Amid political unrest, faltering economy, Pak floods turn into a nightmare

As Pakistan’s government struggled to quell political unrest and rescue a floundering economy this summer, a humanitarian disaster took shape with frightening speed far from the power corridors of Islamabad.

Across the rugged plains of southern Pakistan, extreme flooding has killed 1,300 people since June and displaced more than half a million. Large swathes of farmland are inundated, dead animals dot the highways, and fast-moving currents have crumbled bridges. Scores of homes are underwater, with the government estimating damage at more than $10 billion. 

Pakistan’s climate minister, Sherry Rehman, called the floods a catastrophe of “very epic proportion.”

But as