Deadly monsoon in Pakistan: concern around the Sukkur dam on the Indus

Flooded well in the Sukkur region (Sind), August 28, 2022. AFP - ASIF HASSAN

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Pakistan has been plagued by destructive floods following heavy monsoon rains that have been battering the country since mid-June 2022. The government declared a state of emergency on Friday August 26 as the rain continues to pour to fall.

At least 1,061 people were killed, more than 33 million inhabitants, or one inhabitant in seven, were affected by these floods.

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With our correspondent in Pakistan,

One of the hardest hit provinces is Sindh in the south of the country.

On the spot, all the eyes are riveted on the dam of Sukkur, because it is on him which depends the fate of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants of the south of Pakistan.

This water reservoir is the cornerstone of the irrigation system in Pakistan;

it is also the largest irrigation network of this type in the world.

A fragile engineering treasure 

It is an engineering treasure that dates back to the 1930s. It redistributes the water of the Indus River in almost 10,000 kilometers of canals.

The nineteen steel gates of this huge stone dam were opened to regulate the flow of the river.

Only, there has been negligence in the maintenance of the building in previous years and the flow of water is slowed down by layers of earth which have been deposited over time and which have never been withdrawn.

90% of Pakistan's water supply

The risk is that the Hindus, which provides 90% of Pakistan's water supply, overflows and floods all the land, all the surrounding villages.

Dozens are already under water.

We could see on the spot vast agricultural fields, orchards of mango and date palms, drowned under the waters and thousands of survivors piled up under makeshift tents on the edge of the roads.

Rescuers are hard at work day and night to come to the aid of trapped residents but also to bring food to those who refuse to leave their homes despite the risk of a new episode of torrential rain.

“ 

 ,” several residents of Sukkur told us, watching the sky with anguish.

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• Pakistan

• Natural disasters

• Climate change

• Climate

• Severe weather