In Pakistan the monsoon season – periodic winds typical of tropical areas – lasts from July to September, bringing with it heavy rainfall. Over the past three days, the precipitation has caused severe flooding across the Asian country, resulting in at least ninety deaths.

This was announced by Pakistan's civil protection agency, which added that at least a thousand homes have been damaged while dozens upon dozens of vehicles have been submerged by water.

Dramatic situation in Karachi, Pakistan's most populous city

The city of Karachi, the most populous, is in extreme difficulty as its outdated sewage system is unable to cope with the emergency.

Army troops, rescue workers and volunteers from the Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik helped at least 1,245 people evacuate from the city's residential neighbourhoods, with families forced to wade through waist-deep water. Many of them took refuge with relatives.

Rain is forecast to continue throughout the week, in a country already grappling with the Covid-19 epidemic, which since February has claimed more than 6,200 lives.