KEY POINTS
- Floods trigger humanitarian, agricultural, and health crises in Pakistan
- Death toll from 2025 monsoon floods climbs to 881, with over 1,176 injured and millions displaced nationwide
- Infrastructure wrecked: 9,206 homes, 661 km of roads, and 238 bridges damaged across flood-hit regions
- Floods ravage agriculture, destroying millions of acres of crops and crippling 24% of Pakistan’s GDP base
- Livestock losses surpass 6,000; farmers face billions in damages with no fodder or harvest to recover
- Disease outbreaks surge: 1,700+ diarrhoea cases reported, alongside malaria, skin infections, and dengue
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is facing a worsening flood situation as monsoon rains and floods have killed at least 881 people and injured more than 1,176 since late June, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), warning that the situation is feared to escalate after India released more water.
The deluge has destroyed thousands of homes, swept away bridges and roads, and inundated vast swathes of farmland, raising fears of food insecurity and deepening economic instability.
The agricultural heartland lies in ruins, with millions of acres of standing crops, including wheat, rice, cotton, maize, and sugarcane obliterated, pushing farmers toward catastrophic losses.
The disaster has led to the loss of over 6,180 livestock, further compounding rural distress, NDMA stated.
As the floodwaters continue their destructive course and displacement rises, Pakistan faces a multifaceted emergency, one threatening food security, livelihoods, and the fragile national economy.
According to NDMA, the Infrastructure damage across all regions includes 9, 206 houses destroyed or damaged, 6,180 livestock lost, 661 km of roads impaired, and 238 bridges damaged. Since September 2, 2,844 rescue operations have been conducted across Pakistan.
Beyond human tragedy, the economic wounds are deep and festering. Over 9,000 homes have been ravaged, and more than 6,000 livestock have perished, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
But perhaps the most far-reaching blow is to Pakistan’s agricultural backbone. As the rains swallowed whole fields, millions of acres of standing crops, wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize, and cotton have been destroyed.
Farmers are staring at losses running into billions of rupees, with no fodder for animals and no yield for markets.
Agriculture, which fuels 24% of the GDP, employs half the workforce, and is vital to foreign exchange, is now under siege.
This devastation is expected to throttle production targets and inflate food prices, echoes of the 2010 floods returning to haunt the nation.
In Punjab alone, 2,300 villages are underwater. In KP, over 57,000 acres of crops are lost, and 6000 animals have died. Southern regions like Sindh brace for the worst as floodwaters continue their destructive march.
Economists warn of a cascading effect: higher imports, a heavier fiscal burden, and skyrocketing inflation, projected to rise by over 4.5% in September. Food insecurity looms large as Pakistan struggles to balance its dwindling output with rising demand.
According to the Emergency Disease Surveillance System (EDSS), cases of Acute Diarrhoea (AD) and Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) are surging in the wake of the floods.
Since August 14, over 1,700 cases of AD have been recorded in the battered province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The health situation is deteriorating fast, with skin infections, malaria, and now a declared dengue outbreak in two districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) compounding the misery.
In response, the Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PH-EOC) has been activated at the national level, a move signalling just how grave the secondary health risks have become.
With displacement spreading, sanitation systems overwhelmed, and access to clean water disrupted, the threat of widespread outbreaks looms dangerously close.
Meanwhile, the economic toll continues to mount.
Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, already under pressure, is reeling. Agriculture, the lifeblood of the economy, responsible for 24% of GDP, half of the labour force, and a key source of foreign exchange, is now in crisis mode.
Last year saw only 0.6% growth in the sector, and this year’s ambitious targets are under siege from the floods, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The country had aimed to produce:
- 10.2 million bales of cotton
- 9.17 million tons of rice
- 9.7 million tons of maize
- 80.3 million tons of sugarcane
But with 2,300 villages in Punjab submerged, and floodwaters expected to march south, these goals are rapidly slipping out of reach.
Officials have been hesitant to quantify the full scale of damage, noting that only once the waters retreat can the true losses be calculated, but the signs are ominous.
So far, the 2025 monsoon floods have directly impacted over two million people in Punjab alone, with nationwide displacement nearing two million.
The humanitarian crisis now spans multiple provinces, overwhelming health systems, devastating farms, and uprooting entire communities.
This is not just a flood. It is a multifaceted disaster — a collision of climate, health, and economic instability, with far-reaching consequences for Pakistan’s food security, public health, and recovery capacity.
