PAKISTAN FLOOD CLAIM OVER 1000 LIVES

Written by: Bob Metcalfe

Many of us have misused the phrase "monsoon" before. Heck, just a few weeks ago when it poured on my housewarming party I said "it's a monsoon out there." Now, I know the technical definition, but some may not.

A monsoon is a seasonally driven rain that affects various parts of the world. There's a monsoon season in the southwest US, all over the middle east, southern Asia, even Australia. This is caused by the unequal heating of land and water (water takes longer to warm up), thus bringing a large scale onshore flow and usually the start of the "rainy" season. Well this is exactly what is the problem in Pakistan, the monsoon season is being incredibly evil.

Pakistani meteorologists don't expect it to ease up anytime soon either. The numbers are skyrocketing to over 2.5 million affected, with infrastructure and communications taking a heavy hit from the flooding. Estimates of deaths exceed 1100 at this time. Food, grain, and livestock have been washed away. Entire villages have been said to have vanished.