One-third of Pakistan under water

PAKISTAN: Millions of Pakistanis have been badly affected due to the unprecedented floods, the worst in a decade.

A third of Pakistan is under water as a result of flooding caused by record monsoon rains, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said, calling it a ‘crisis of unimaginable proportions’. The Minister termed the situation as ‘monster monsoon of the decade’.

At least 1,136 have been killed due to floods and another 1,634 injured, according to the latest data issued by the National Disaster Management Authority, the chief national body tasked to deal with calamities, news agency PTI reported. Meanwhile, the devastating flash floods in Pakistan have inflicted a loss of at least US$10 billion on different sectors of the countrys struggling economy, according to Minister for Finance Miftah Ismail.

“Around 949,858 houses have been partially or fully destroyed in the calamity, rendering millions of people homeless in the country,” the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in its latest update. According to the NDMA, the victims include 348 children and 207 women.

Sindh Province remained the worst-hit area during the ongoing monsoon, where 347 people were killed and 1,009 others were injured in various accidents. About 3,451 km of roads, 149 bridges, and 170 shops were swept away by flash floods across the country. An estimated 719,558 livestock perished in the rains across the country.

According to officials, at least 33 million people- one in every seven Pakistanis — have been affected by the floods. Unprecedented flash floods caused by historic monsoon rains have washed away roads, crops, infrastructure and bridges.

– IANS