An aerial view of a flood-hit district of Sindh. Twitter
The total deaths caused by this year’s floods across Pakistan climbed to 1,481 on Wednesday, as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced 54 people had died in the past 24 hours—44 in Sindh alone.
In its latest floods situation report, the NDMA said of the 1,481 deaths, 656 were men, 297 women, and 528 children. Sindh remains the worst-hit province, claiming 638 of the 1,481 deaths, followed by 303 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; 278 Balochistan; 191 Punjab; 48 Pakistan-administered Kashmir; 22 Gilgit-Baltistan; and 1 Islamabad. In addition, 12,748 people have been injured since rains started in mid-June, with 8,321 from Sindh; 3,858 Punjab; 368 KP; 172 Balochistan; 24 Pakistan-administered Kashmir; and 5 GB.
Authorities also confirmed the damage and destruction of more homes, saying 1.18 million homes were partially damaged nationwide, while 569,800 had been destroyed. Of these, Sindh has reported 1.048 million partially damaged homes and 489,222 fully damaged ones; KP 53,935 partially damaged, and 37,523 fully damaged; Balochistan 45,975 partially damaged and 18,410 fully damaged; Punjab 36,477 partially damaged and 23,764 fully damaged; GB 636 partially damaged and 575 fully destroyed; and Pakistan-administered Kashmir 221 partially damaged and 306 destroyed. The total losses to livestock have similarly climbed to 908,137, with 500,000 from Balochistan; 205,106 Punjab; 180,911 Sindh; 21,328 KP; and 792 from Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
There are currently 541,134 people of the 33 million impacted by the floods housed in relief camps, per the NDMA. It said disbursements of cash handouts for flood victims were continuing, and more than Rs. 28 billion had been distributed among 1,135,660 beneficiaries by the Benazir Income Support Program thus far.
More rains and flood losses
The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Tuesday forecast another spell of monsoon rains in Sindh over the next two days, warning this could hamper the receding of waters in flooded areas and could prove more harrowing for residents of the province. The warning comes as authorities stressed that residents of relief camps are beginning to show signs of water and vector-borne diseases and urged the public to donate medical aid to avoid further deaths.
In a report published earlier this week, daily Express Tribune said authorities were also revising upwards their estimates of total losses incurred due to the floods, from $10 billion earlier to over $40 billion. Emphasizing that this was a tentative estimate—with a full damage assessment expected within four to six weeks—authorities have nonetheless warned that the full scale of the calamity is far greater than previously believed and would require extensive funds and work to overcome.
Of particular concern to authorities is the damage to infrastructure, especially in remote areas of Pakistan, which would require the reconstruction of major road and rail networks, as well as basic utilities such as electricity and gas supply.