33 million affected, 982 dead, 6.8 lakh houses destroyed amid Pak floods: Report

Around 33 million people have been affected – 1,456 have been injured and 982 killed – as floods ravage parts of Pakistan, prompting the Shehbaz Sharif government to turn to the Pak Army for help in rescue and relief operations.

The floods have also badly damaged houses and infrastructure; Pakistan’s disaster management agency said over 3,000 km of roads, around 150 bridges and nearly seven lakh houses have been washed away or destroyed.

Pakistan news website Dawn painted a grim picture Saturday morning, writing, “… at present, more than half of (the country) is under water and millions of people have been rendered homeless as a result of flash flooding generated by abnormal monsoon rains…”

Unprecedented rains have also left over 5.7 million without shelter and food.

The Tribune spoke of a ‘fresh wave of death and destruction’ in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh provinces, where heavy rain continues for a second consecutive day, leaving parts cut off due to broken roads and bridges.

The destruction also includes damage to crops and livestock.

Sindh and Balochistan have been worst hit, news agency PTI said, adding Pak’s railway had suspended operations at several places in these areas.

Pakistan International Airlines halted flights to Quetta, the Balochistan provincial capital on Friday, due to bad weather.

The Pak government, news agency ANI added, is to launch a ‘flash appeal’ to the United Nations; this is after the government declared a ‘national emergency’. The UN Central Emergency Response Fund has already allocated $3 million.

Warnings over heavy rainfall, The Tribune also said, remain in place till Tuesday, Aug 30. More rain has been predicted for the coming week.

Sindh and Balochistan provinces have been worst hit by the disaster and Pakistan Railway has suspended some operation while Pakistan International Airlines halted flights to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.

Quetta and its outskirts remain submerged after a 36-hour spell of rain brought life to a standstill and left hundreds of families without homes, the Dawn said.

The floods and rains have also led to an acute gas shortage because authorities could not repair pipelines washed away due to floods in the Bolan river.

On Friday videos emerged on Twitter of flooded streets and (almost) completely submerged cars. One video showed a prominent hotel collapsing in the floods.