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Social media gives Pakistani flood survivors platform to share experiences

This aerial view shows a flooded residential area after heavy monsoon rains in Balochistan province on Aug. 29, 2022. (Fida Hussain/AFP via Getty Images)
This aerial view shows a flooded residential area after heavy monsoon rains in Balochistan province on Aug. 29, 2022. (Fida Hussain/AFP via Getty Images)

The death toll now numbers over 1,200 in Pakistan where dramatic monsoon flooding covered a third of the country, leaving more than half a million homeless.

Images of the suffering — submerged buildings, hungry children and damaged — are now being shared around the world, as are videos expressing anger at public officials who many in affected areas say didn’t do enough to prepare for the floods.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd talk with Femi Oke, host of Al Jazeera English’s “The Stream,” about the role of social media in Pakistan’s tragedy.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.