Pakistan declares national emergency as flood death toll reaches 937
India Today
Pakistan government has declared a national emergency as floods have so far claimed lives of 937 people.
Pakistan government has declared a national emergency as rain-induced floods have so far killed 937 people, including 343 children, and left at least 30 million without shelter.
Sindh Province reported the highest number of deaths as 306 people lost their lives due to floods and rain-related incidents from June 14 to Thursday, according to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Balochistan reported 234 deaths whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab Province recorded 185 and 165 deaths, respectively. In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, 37 people were killed while nine deaths were reported in the Gilgit-Baltistan region during the current monsoon rains.
READ: Floods wreak havoc across Pakistan; 903 dead since mid-June
According to the NDMA, Pakistan received 166.8 mm of rain in August, as opposed to the average of 48 mm - an increase of 241 per cent. Sindh and Balochistan - the worst-hit regions - witnessed a 784 per cent and 496 per cent increase in the monsoon deluge, respectively, the Dawn News reported.
The abnormal increase in rainfall generated flash floods across the country, particularly in the southern part of Pakistan, which remains inundated at the moment with 23 districts of Sindh being declared “calamity-hit”, the newspaper reported.
Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said on Thursday that a “war room” has been set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at NDMA, which would spearhead relief operations across the country. She said that the incessant “monstrous” rainfall had “made it hard to carry out relief operations, especially helicopter sorties”.
