Persistent and heavy monsoon rains across the country have now affected up to five million people and killed 132 others in a month, as the country braces for more wet and wild weather.
Southern Sindh, a flood-prone area where authorities said more heavy rain was expected in the coming days, was the hardest-hit area, with crops and many houses destroyed. Most of those killed died as a result of falling roofs, drowning and water-borne diseases. An unknown number of women and children are among the victims. On Monday, the heaviest spell of rainfall occurred in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Tharparkar, Tando Allahyar, Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Sanghar and other districts of Sindh.
10 INJURED: In Mirpurkhas, another two people were killed in rain related incidents, one of whom was a woman. Another 10 people, including children, were injured in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Tharparkar. In the village of Adu Mal in Mirpurkhas district, a man was killed. In Sadhro, a woman was killed. Reportedly, 80 percent of the flood-affected people who had moved to safer places have still not received any relief goods from government or non-government organisations. Meanwhile, 10 major breaches developed in Puran canal, the main spinal drain of LBOD near the towns of Jhuddo and Naokot. As a result, Jhuddo was completely submerged under floodwater, displacing some 200,000 people. Another 15 villages were also inundated in Khairpur district, bringing the total to 6,000. Another five villages were also inundated in Badin after heavy rains overnight. Khairpur District Coordination Officer Abbas Baloch said over a million acres of farmland had been destroyed by the floods. He said the army had been called to Faiz Ganj, where communication to several areas had been cut off. More than 50 villages were inundated in Thatta, and roads leading to Dadu were closed, leading to a sharp increase in the price of food items. Meanwhile, the water level at a dam in Jamshoro rose drastically and two doors of the dam broke away, completely inundating a railway track along with over 200 villages. In Punjab, around 20 villages in Bajwat were at the verge to being completely wiped out. Farmers said around 7,500 acres of good agricultural land had been destroyed in the Bajwat and Sialkot areas.
UN AGENCIES: The United Nations humanitarian agencies said meanwhile that they needed a written request from the federal government to start relief operations in the flood-hit areas of Sindh and other parts of the country.
