Flood in Pakistan claims over 1,000 lives

Islamabad: The catastrophic flood caused due to monsoon rains, cloudbursts and bank breaches continues to wreck havoc across Pakistan as the death toll rose to 1,037.

Floods continued to cause destruction, devastation and claim lives as at least 119 people died in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan and left over 70 injured in the last 24 hours.

Overall, 1,037 lives have been lost till now across the country, with 74 deaths reported in Sindh, 31 in KP, six in Gilgit Baltistan (GB), four in Balochistan and one in Punjab and Kashmir.

As per the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), at least 32 children, 56 men and nine women have died in the floods and the rains while the number of people affected has cross 5.77 million.

At least 3,116 km of highways and 149 bridges were washed away.

The massively spread destruction and devastation caused by the floods across Pakistan has prompted an immediate appeal for flood relief aid by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as relief aids have started to land by countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and others.

The relief goods include tents, food items, medicines and other essential goods.

Moreover, Balochistan, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP), South Punjab and Sindh province are among the worst flood affected areas as Pakistan Army, Federal and Provincial governments, private non-government organisations and locals are working day and night to reach out with aid, relief, rescue and rehabilitation of flood affected people across the country.

“Currently, Jhelum, Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers are flowing normal, while Indus river is at high flood level at Attock, Chashma, Taunsa and Sukkur,” Pakistan Army’s public relation Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

Many areas of Pakistan are either showing scenes of scary, wide spread and fast flowing flood water or is showing pockets of displaced people, living on the sides of the roads of in tent villages, made as part of the rescue operations.

While the government is working towards providing relief to the flood affected people, the magnitude and scale of devastation, displacement and affected people is so big that thousands still await government’s relief aid.