Lake Manchar has punched through.

The retaining wall of Pakistan’s largest lake burst on Tuesday after months of heavy rains, threatening hundreds more villages downstream and forcing thousands more from their homes.

The Pakistani government engineered two intentional breaches of Lake Manchar’s retaining wall over the weekend in an effort to ease the pressure on the structure, but an irrigation official told The Washington Post that the wall began to crack Tuesday as water levels continued to rise.

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The Pakistani government is already struggling to respond to what has been described as a “catastrophic” crisis, and the Lake Manchar breach is likely to further impede access to those in need. Anger is growing among displaced Pakistanis, hundreds of villages remain underwater, and the people who have made it to dry land are desperately seeking shelter and relief.

Meanwhile, over here, the massive cruise ships ply to and fro.

I got a view similar to this just yesterday, on a bus that goes past the terminal that ship is backing out of (or fronting into). They really are that enormous; they really do dwarf the city skyline a mile or two away. Luxury recreation here, death by flood there.

Water from the lake could be seen coursing over highways and overflowing drainage canals just north of Sehvan, threatening to cut off a key supply route to some of the country’s hardest-hit villages in Dadu and beyond. Roads leading south were lined with farmers moving their livestock to safety.

Momentary safety. Where can they go, and what can they do when they get there? Pakistan is not a rich country.

The unprecedented flooding in Pakistan has killed more than 1,300 people and affected some 33 million since it began in June. Government relief efforts are overwhelmed, although international supplies are starting to enter the country.

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The flooding also has come as the country’s vast agricultural regions were preparing for the harvest season. Cash crops of rice, cotton and vegetables have been swept away, and the losses will cause untold hardship for the farmers who rely on those crops for income.

Never mind. Just turn up the air conditioning until you can’t hear the screams any more.