Thousands marooned as water inundates dozens of villages in Balochistan, Sindh

Dozens of villages were inundated after floodwater entered Jacobabad and Kandhkot on Saturday, while flooding in Balochistan has left at least half a million people marooned, besides destroying over 2,000 houses. According to reports, floodwater entered Jaffarabad, Naseerabad and Kandhkot from areas of Lehri and Chattar, inundating dozens of villages and trapping thousands. Rescue operation was jointly being conducted by the Pakistan Army, FC and the local administration.
Three bodies were recovered from a stream which was overflowing due to rainwater in Naseerabad. Torrential rains and flash floods in Naseerabad and Jaffarabad districts have caused damage, destroyed standing crops on thousands of acres completely washed away road network. “Dera Allah Yar, Dera Murad Jamali, Sohbat pur, Manjopur, Manjoshori areas are still under two to six feet of water, increasing the plight of the thousands of families living in these areas,” Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh said. Yaqoob said that he had contacted his counterpart in Sindh and asked him not to divert water from Jacobabad towards Balochistan as it would worsen the situation in the country’s largest province.
Epidemics have gripped various areas of Balochistan as flashfloods and rains have destroyed water supply lines and people have to resort to drinking contaminated water. Three children have died in Kandhkot after contracting deadly gastric diseases. Hundreds of flood-affected families, having taken shelter along the National Highway, do not have access to fresh food and medical aid.