Death toll from rain, floods in Pak reaches 478

Islamabad, Aug 2: The incessant monsoon rain and subsequent floods reported across Pakistan for the past seven weeks have so far killed 478 people, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Tuesday.

Rain-related incidents have also injured 536 people and left thousands of families displaced as a heavy monsoon spell has continued to batter the country since June 14, Xinhua news agency quoted NDMA statistics as saying.

Balochistan province remained one of the most hard-hit areas, where 136 people were killed, 13,535 houses were partially or fully damaged, and over 13,000 livestock perished.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives in Balochistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday that federal and provincial institutions are engaged in relief efforts in the province.

“The devastations of the flooding in Balochistan are indescribable. The government is working day and night to help those affected,” he said, adding that rations are being provided to the victims rescued from the flood-affected areas.

–IANS