Pakistan floods a colossal tragedy

Internally displaced people wade through floodwaters after heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan's Balochistan province on Sept 8. Record rains have killed over 1,200 people since June, leaving a third of the country under water. (Photo: AFP)

'I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan. As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt. This is a global crisis, it demands a global response," wrote UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Twitter on Monday, at the end of his two-day solidarity trip to the flood-affected areas of Pakistan.

This tweet encompasses the situation well. Mr Guterres is expected to help Pakistan by highlighting the devastating impact of the recent floods. Yet the agony of the 33 million people suffering from the fallout of the catastrophic floods, which have caused an estimated US$30 billion worth of damage, cannot be explained easily in words.