Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains throughout Pakistan have killed over 1,061 people and injured and displaced 1000’s more.
Powerful flash floods in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa brought on the Kabul River to swell, sweeping away bridges overnight, cutting off some districts from road access.
Downstream, fears of flooding across the river banks prompted thousands in the district of Charsadda to flee their properties, based on disaster officials, with some spending the night time on highways with their livestock, miles away from their inundated villages and cities.
The picturesque Kalam Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is among the areas most affected by the rains and flooding. Waters from overflowing rivers swept away total buildings, including an iconic hotel.
The monsoon season, which started earlier than normal this 12 months, has lashed Pakistan with particularly heavy rains and rescuers have struggled to evacuate 1000’s of marooned people from flood-hit areas. The crisis forced the government to declare a state of emergency.
Historic monsoon rains and flooding have damaged more than 950,000 properties while over 800,000 animals were killed. Over 3,400km of roads and about 150 bridges have been severely damaged.
In Balochistan all 34 districts of the province have been badly affected by heavy rain and flooding and road networks have been destroyed and bridges washed away and relief was only possible by deploying helicopters, which are not usually able to operate because of bad climate.
Provincial officers have confirmed over 250 deaths however the quantity was expected to increase considerably after communications are restored.
In Punjab, the Rajanpur district appeared to be the hardest hit together with the district of Dera Ghazi Khan. 1000’s of mud and brick homes have been inundated by water, most of them utterly demolished or a minimum of partly destroyed.
Residents made homeless by the flood took shelter on increased floor, the place they waited for relief items and other help.
In Sindh, so far 349 people have been killed by floods with over 170,000 homes destroyed and crops spanning 2,800,000 acres have been severally damaged.
Pakistan Military has joined the nationwide and provincial authorities in responding to the floods and COAS on visited the areas which has been hit heavily by the rains.
