THE SQUIZ
Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif has asked for international help after officials confirmed yesterday that more than 1,000 people have been killed and 1,456 have been injured in floods across the country since June. Many parts of Pakistan have become inaccessible due to the mega monsoonal rains, and more than 33 million people have been displaced by floodwaters and landslides, which is about 15% of the country’s population. Pakistan declared a national emergency on Thursday, and so far, the US, UK, United Arab Emirates and a few other nations have contributed to a monsoon disaster appeal.

FLOODS ARE COMMON IN PAKISTAN, RIGHT?
Right, but Sharif says the losses this season are comparable to those during the floods of 2010-11, said to be the worst on record. What’s different this time is the wet season started early in June instead of July, and then the rain got very heavy in August, with about 60% of the nation’s usual monsoonal rains falling in less than a month. And there is more to come… Experts blame climate change for the intensity of the downfalls, but there is also criticism of local governments for allowing construction in areas prone to seasonal flooding. So far, 60,000 homes across the country have been destroyed/badly damaged, and vital infrastructure like roads and bridges have been washed away, with northern Pakistan particularly affected. Some videos and photos of the astounding floodwaters are here.

AND OZ IS SET FOR MORE RAIN THIS WEEK?
You bet you are… As this video from the Bureau of Meteorology shows, a big dotted line will bring rain to the Northern Territory, Queensland, and northern NSW as a dotted line with spikes dumps the wet stuff to South Oz, southern NSW, Victoria and Tassie. So that takes care of our small talk for the best part of this week… It comes as Sydney is set to surpass its all-time rain record after the city’s total rainfall for 2022 passed the 2,000mm mark on Friday – the first time since 1963. Sydney’s wettest year on record was 1950 with 2,194mm of rain – keep in mind its average rainfall is 1,200mm… And sorry to be a new week party pooper, but more experts are saying we’re heading towards our 3rd consecutive La Niña weather event this spring/summer…