At least 12 more people were killed in Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar and Badin districts, as rising water level in Sutlej River inundated another 18 villages in Kasur district on Wednesday. The water level in Sutlej at Gandasingh was recorded at 85,000 cusecs.
The inundated villages include Bakhiwand, Talwar Post, Chanda Singhwala, Basti Bangladesh, Kalanjer and Kamalpura. The district administration has sought boats, motorboats and civil defence staff from Lahore for relief activities. The Federal Flood Commission (FFC) said Sutlej River was flowing in medium flood and was likely to attain low flood level at Sulemanki in the next 24 hours. In lower Sindh, the death toll in flood- and rain-related incidents has reached 60 in four of the seven flood-affected districts.
Six people died in Badin by droning in floodwater, while four, including two children, drowned in natural ponds in Tharparkar district. One was reported killed in Jhuddo and another in Samaro. Thousands of villagers and their cattle have been left stranded in floodwater as high as eight feet in six union councils of Jhuddo, Naokot, Tando Jan Muhammad, Taluka Hussain Bux Mari and other nearby villages and talukas of Mirpurkhas.
The stranded population is threatened by deadly diseases, including malria, gastroenteritis, abdominal distention, scabies and skin infections owing to a severe dearth of potable water and food. An estimated 1.5 million people in Sindh have been displaced, while 90 percent of mud houses have been completely damaged. Army, rangers and navy personnel are busy shifting the stranded families to safety.
Meanwhile, about 50 people who consumed contaminated water from Umerkot’s water supply lines fell unconscious on Wednesday. Twenty five people were hospitalised, while the rest were discharged after emergency treatment at Umerkot Civil Hospital. In Karachi, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah told US Consul General William Martin about the losses caused by the recent monsoon rain in lower Sindh, saying rain had affected around one million people.
Shah said the heavy rain had caused massive devastation in six districts of Sindh, including Badin, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar and Mirpurkhas. He said that rain and flood had also damaged roads and other vital infrastructure. Shah said the government was making all-out efforts for the rehabilitation of victims, adding that various NGOs and international assistance bodies had also launched relief operations in rain-hit areas.
Floods kill 12; 18 Kasur villages inundated
