Pakistan’s government was grappling with political and economic turmoil before an unusually fierce monsoon season began in June. “Our resilience has been weakened because of the pandemic and the Ukraine war, which has sent energy bills shooting up, and food prices are extremely expensive,” Ebrahim told me from her home in the southern port city of Karachi. They were among millions of Pakistanis struggling to afford basic groceries as the country – like much of the world – feels the effect of global price rises attributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The family had left their home in the middle of the night because the grandchildren were crying for food. She spoke to one man, a farmer, who had lost four family members – his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren – when they were swept away in Balochistan province. The before and after pictures in this piece give a powerful sense of the extent of the damage.Įbrahim has spent weeks interviewing those caught up in the disaster, including for this piece for the Guardian this week. But 12 years later her country is in the grip of an even bigger emergency – at a time when it is least able to cope. She covered the super-floods of 2010, which were described at the time as a less-than-once-in-a-century event. Zofeen T Ebrahim has worked as a journalist in Pakistan for 35 years. Space | Nasa’s $10bn (£8.65bn) James Webb space telescope has revealed a blazing gas giant shrouded in dusty red clouds in unprecedented observations of a planet beyond our solar system.Ī girl with handouts she received from charity after floods in Nowshera, Pakistan. The gun – which was loaded with five bullets – appeared to jam when the assailant attempted to fire. The speech indicates a newly aggressive strategy ahead of vital midterm elections.Īrgentina | A man has been arrested after pointing a gun inches from the face of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s vice-president and former president, as she was greeting supporters in Buenos Aires. United States | Joe Biden used a primetime speech to warn that American democracy is in peril from Republican forces loyal to Donald Trump. Five big storiesĬrime | Two in three police force areas in England and Wales are experiencing rising gun crime, with one force facing levels six times higher than a decade ago, Guardian analysis of Home Office data has found.ĭowning Street | A cabinet minister and a high-ranking aide at No 10 continued to work in Boris Johnson’s government despite allegations of sexual misconduct against them, according to reports last night. So how does Pakistan recover? And is it possible to prevent catastrophe from striking for a third time? I spoke to Zofeen T Ebrahim, a reporter based in Karachi, to find out. It comes only 12 years after more than 2,000 people were killed in the deadliest floods in the country’s history. Pakistan’s ministers have described the monsoon as a “serious climate catastrophe” and an “apocalyptic crisis”.
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