On Monday, tens of millions of people in Pakistan suffered the worst monsoon floods in a decade, with numerous homes being washed away, important crops being damaged, and the country's main river threatening to overflow its banks.

Sherry Rehman, the minister for climate change in Pakistan, stated that a third of the country was submerged, causing a "crisis of unimaginable proportions."

Officials report that 1,136 people had perished since June when the seasonal rains began, but the final death toll could be higher as hundreds of settlements in the hilly north have been shut off due to the destruction of roads and bridges by flood-swollen rivers.

The yearly monsoon is necessary for irrigating crops and restocking lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but it can also cause devastation.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority, more than 33 million people, or one in seven Pakistanis, have been affected by flooding this year.

"It’s all one big ocean, there’s no dry land to pump the water out," Rehman remarked, adding that the economic damage would be catastrophic.

This year's flooding is akin to the catastrophic floods of 2010, in which more than 2,000 people perished.

Across the nation, victims of flooding have found sanctuary in temporary camps, where desperation is growing.

Since the end of the rains more than two days ago, some floods have receded. In many parts of Pakistan, however, residents were still wading through water that flooded their homes or coated the streets as they battled to repair the damage to their homes and businesses.

At least eleven people were murdered on Monday when a boat used by volunteer rescuers to evacuate two dozen people collapsed in the overflowing waters of the Indus River near the city of Bilawal Pur in the country's south, according to media reports. An unknown number of letters are still lacking in capitalization.

Rehman and meteorologists forecasted the arrival of new monsoons in September. Since the beginning of summer, monsoons have arrived earlier and more intensely than typical, according to officials, with last week's tremendous rainfall affecting practically the whole nation.

Rehman stated that Pakistan is accustomed to monsoon rains and flooding, but not to this extent.

The National Disaster Management Authority reported that 1,636 people were injured by flooding this summer, in addition to 1 million dwellings being damaged. According to the report, in a country with a population of 220 million, at least 498 thousand people are displaced and living in camps. It is thought that many more displaced people are living with family, friends, or outdoors.

On Monday, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that the current rainfall is the biggest in thirty years.

Sharif remarked in the northeastern city of Charsadda, "I saw floodwater everywhere, wherever I went in recent days and even today." After the Swat River overflowed and inundated adjacent settlements, over 180,000 people were evacuated from the city.

Sharif has stated that the government will provide housing for all displaced individuals.

"Living here is miserable."  Fazal e Malik, who was taking refuge on the grounds of a school in the town of Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, remarked, "Our self-respect is at stake."

“I stink but there is no place to take a shower. There are no fans.”

Not only have many of the displaced lost their homes, but also their crops and businesses.

A farmer lamented the destruction of his rice crops near Sukkur, a city in southern Sindh province that is home to an outdated colonial-era barrage on the Indus River that is critical to preventing additional calamity.

Millions of acres of fertile farmland have been inundated by weeks of nonstop rain. Now, the Indus is threatening to overflow its banks as torrents of water flow downstream from northern tributaries.

"Our crop spanned over 5,000 acres on which the best quality rice was sown and is eaten by you and us," 70-year-old Khalil Ahmed told AFP.

"All that is finished."

Landscape of water

A large portion of Sindh is now an endless landscape of water, impeding a big relief operation conducted by the military.

"There are no landing strips or approaches available… our pilots find it difficult to land," a senior commander told AFP.

In the north, where soaring mountains and deep valleys create hazardous flying conditions, the army's helicopters were also battling to rescue civilians.

Many rivers in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, home to some of Pakistan's most popular tourist destinations, have overflowed, destroying dozens of structures, including a 150-room hotel that collapsed into a roaring stream.

The administration has declared an emergency and requested international assistance; on Sunday, the first aid flights from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates arrived.

The timing could not have been worse for Pakistan, whose economy is on the free slide.

Monday evening in Washington, the executive board of the International Monetary Fund approved the renewal of a $6 billion loan program vital for the nation to service its foreign debt.

"We should now be getting the 7th & 8th tranche of $1.17 billion," tweeted Pakistani Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

However, it is already evident that more time will be needed to repair and rebuild following this monsoon.

As a result of a scarcity of supplies from the flooded breadbasket provinces of Sindh and Punjab, prices for primary products — particularly onions, tomatoes, and chickpeas — are increasing.

The meteorological service reported that the entire country received double the average monsoon rainfall, but Balochistan and Sindh received more than four times the average over the past three decades.

Since June, Padidan, a small town in Sindh, has received over 1.2 meters (47 inches) of precipitation, making it the wettest location in Pakistan.