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A third of Pakistan is underwater as deadly floods leave desperate residents facing 'doomsday'

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NBC News

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Author: Mushtaq Yusufzai, Rhoda Kwan and Evan Bush

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Presenter: Mr. Roth

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Keypoints: Summarize the article

  • Tuesday, August 23 - United Nations asked the World leaders to prepare to help
  • Monsoon season hits India hard in many places
  • ⅓ of the country is underwater (more than the state of Wisconsin)
  • appealed for $160 million in emergency funds
  • Since August 1 → 5x amount of rain they normally get

“Pakistan is awash in suffering,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message. “The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids — the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding.”

I gathered this from two articles … I also looked for information in the article that I could use to extend my understanding

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Significance:

Identify and explain why this particular article is newsworthy

  • >1,100* people have died
  • Nearly 500,000 people displaced
  • Scientists say this is driven by human-created climate change
    • Nations who aren’t contributing as much to climate change are feeling huge impacts
      • Such as Pakistan’s heat wave that exceeded 122°F
      • These heatwaves cause water to evaporate faster → harsher monsoons

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I found a different article to find this information … and then I found a short video (<4 minutes is great) to add more depth

“Life has become terrible here,” said Riaz Khan, a resident of Kalam Valley in Pakistan’s picturesque northern Swat district. "We have been cut off from the rest of Pakistan since Aug. 25 as the floods had swept away roads and bridges linking us with the downtowns," he added.

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Historical Thinking Skill:

ONE of the following to address

  • Discuss causes and/or effects of this issue
  • $10billion in damages so far
  • 90% of cotton crops destroyed in one region
  • United States this month announced $1 million in aid
  • $1.1 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to avoid default on its debt payments
  • Can’t predict location of these storms… “bridge that had been rebuilt 16 feet, or five meters, higher after it was destroyed during record flooding in 2010 was again inundated days ago.”
  • Discuss how this issue is a larger part of change and/or continuity over the course of time
  • Discuss how this issue compares and/or contrasts to other issues in the past or present

Additional Research

“People here are bearing the brunt of global climate change," Islamic Relief Worldwide CEO Waseem Ahmad said in an emailed statement Tuesday. "Pakistan produces less than 1% of the world’s carbon footprint, but its people are suffering the biggest consequences."

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Source Analysis:

ONE of the following to address

    • Choose ONE of the following to address
      • Discuss 2+ perspectives that are impacted by this issue
        • Scientists who are looking at these monsoons from a ‘what can we expect,’ scientific perspective
        • Politicians who are looking at this from a, ‘how do we fix our community’ perspective
        • Citizens who are looking at this from a, “how do I rebuild’ perspective
      • Discuss bias that exists within the article
      • Discuss the context of the article

I gathered my perspectives from the articles… I hadn’t thought of the ‘scientist’ perspective until I read the articles

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Tips

  • Where do I find an appropriate article?
    • Check out the ‘Current Events Link’ for a list of sources

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  • How do I know if I found a ‘good’ article?
    • Is it current? (within the past month or so)
    • Is it engaging?
    • Can you relate to it?
    • If you’re still unsure… check with me!

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  • How much time should I spend on this?
    • 2-3 hours start to finish (you should be relying on 2-3 additional sources to have enough depth)
    • Start a few days early

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  • How many sources should I have?
    • 3-4 sources is probably enough… 1 will NOT be enough…

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  • What else should I have?
    • Images and quotes! They add a good bit of flavor

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Citations

Andreoni, M. (2022, August 30). Why Pakistan was hit so hard. The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/30/climate/pakistan-floods.html

Guardian News and Media. (2022, August 29). 'Monster monsoon': Why the floods in Pakistan are so devastating. The Guardian. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/29/monster-monsoon-why-the-floods-in-pakistan-are-so-devastating

NBCUniversal News Group. (2022, August 30). Pakistan floods: U.N. Appeals for aid with a third of the country underwater. NBCNews.com. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistan-floods-un-appeal-aid-monsoon-climate-change-rcna45219

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