While massive floods occur frequently in various regions around the globe, the Libyan floods were the most devastating in recent years, and there is no telling how far the damage will spread. And it is hard to forget last year's flood in Pakistan, which is said to have submerged one-third of the country.
There is no doubt that climate change is having a greater impact on the extreme weather occurring in various regions. I have been writing Japan A to Z and guiding foreign visitors to Japan, while at the same time doing charity work, which has led me to confront issues of climate change more frequently these days.
This week I get off the usual topic of tourism, but I'll focus on one photo. It is a good opportunity to show you what I am doing, which you can't recognize from weekly writing.
What I do for the charity
I have worked in the broadcasting business for over 30 years primarily involved in current affairs. I've covered and reported on political upheavals, wars, and catastrophes at home and abroad. But in recent years as part of the charity work, I travel with a filming team to the countries we support each year and broadcast the current situation to encourage viewers to support. This year we are supporting the children of Pakistan.
My role is to provide an environment that facilitates the activities of the accompanying filming crew and ensures their safety. It is also my job to take videos and photos for social networking sites.
Key facts of the flood in 2022(Quoted from CDP)
First, let us review the key facts about the floods in Pakistan last year.
Floods affected at least 33 million people and killed at least 1,739(mid-June 2022 to Nov. 18, 2022)
20.6 million people required humanitarian assistance.
The flooding caused $14.9 billion in damages and $15.2 billion in economic losses.
UNDP, said an additional nine million people risk being pushed into poverty on top of the 33 million affected by the devastating floods.
The floods displaced at least 7.9 Million people.
About the photo
I took this photo at the major flood-devastated area in the central Sindh Province where most of the land was poor farmland. This place is located on the lower Indus River, which fostered the Indus civilization, and rice and cotton are mainly grown here. Because water is taken from the Indus River, there is almost no concern about agricultural water supply, but this has backfired in the recent floods. There are various speculations about the cause of the flood, and some information pointed out that it was a man-made disaster.
It was my first day in the devastated area in the region, and I was shocked to see some of the lands were still underwater. When the flood took place last year, people evacuated to main roads where the elevation was higher, but they are still affected by the water and are far from returning to life as it was.
Imagine life surrounded by flooded water without safe water supplies, always in danger of infectious disease, and many children are in danger of malnutrition.
In the village we visited, we also covered a boy who had his right leg amputated after contracting an infection from getting into water that had accumulated during a flood.
I was so lucky to come across the scene of a woman walking along a footpath left by a massive puddle of water left by the floods when we were filming. This photo has several elements of the situation that we can think of.
The suffering caused by the floods continues.
Are essential infrastructures such as electricity reaching the residents?
What are the living conditions of this woman?
Is this area really on the road to recovery?
What I intend
I don't intend to impose whatever we can interpret from the photo on you. I would like you to watch what it has taken in Pakistan where there are many severely flooded places, and use your imagination. There should be various interpretations.
If you like this photo, I would be grateful if you vote for my photo from the World Meteorological Organization 2024 Calendar Competition. This photo was shortlisted, and as a finalist, I believe that being selected for one of the 2024 calendars would boost our Pakistan relief efforts and allow us to bring even more support to the region.
For voting, please visit the following voting sites, then click(tap) "likes". WMO will decide the winners basically by the number of likes based on the regional balance.
【Instagram】
【Facebook】
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=683288493832925&set=pcb.683316133830161
All you have to do is click (tap) likes. I hope that I will be able to give you good news in my later post. WMO will conclude on the 18th of September which is tomorrow.