Photo courtesy UNICEF—Sami Malik
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday said the total number of people killed due to rain-related incidents across Pakistan since mid-June had risen to 1,162, with 3,554 others injured, including 545 children.
In its daily monsoon situation report, the natural disaster watchdog said 405 people had been killed in Sindh; 257 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; 249 Balochistan; 187 Punjab; 41 Pakistan-administered Kashmir; 22 Gilgit-Baltistan; and 1 in Islamabad. At the same time, it said, 2,023 people had been injured in Punjab; 1,074 Sindh; 321 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa; 110 Balochistan; 21 Pakistan-administered Kashmir; and 5 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Updating the total losses to infrastructure and livestock, it said 5,063km of roads had been damaged nationwide, including 2,328km in Sindh, while 243 bridges had either collapsed or been damaged; and 173 shops impacted by the floods. Across Pakistan, 733,002 homes have been partially damaged, with 633,788 in Sindh alone, while 324,386 have been completely destroyed; 262,296 in just Sindh. Total losses to livestock have climbed to 730,483, with an estimated 500,000 in Balochistan and 205,104 in Punjab.
The government has declared 72 districts as “calamity-hit,” with over 33 million affected by rains and flooding, many left homeless as their homes have washed away or are still underwater. Thus far, per the NDMA, 118,247 people have been rescued, while 462,236 are currently housed in relief camps.
Over the next 24 hours, the NDMA has warned that River Kabul at Nowshera is in very high flood level, but water levels are gradually receding. River Indus at Chashma, Taunsa Guddu and Sukkur remains in high flood level, with an expectation of it reaching “very high flood” level at Taunsa; River Indus at Kalabagh and Kotri is in medium flood level.
Stranded
Hundreds of people have been stranded on the Quetta-Sukkur N-65 Highway for several days following damage to two vital bridges. According to local administration, the Bibi Nani bridge at Kacchi has been damaged due to heavy rains and flooding, while the Pinjra Bridge has been washed away. Balochistan is also suffering from a lack of gas and electricity, which has yet to be restored nearly a week after it was cut off due to damages to infrastructure.
Army aviation helicopters have rescued several stranded locals and tourists from Kumrat and Kalam in Swat, but the process is ongoing as dozens remain in the area that has been cut off due to landslides and hill torrents.
Separately, the United Nations Population Fund has warned that at least 650,000 pregnant women, 73,000 of them expected to deliver next month, are in the flood-affected areas and urgently require maternal health services. In a statement, it also warned that many women and girls were at risk of gender-based violence. It said over 1,000 health facilities had been partially or fully damaged in Sindh, while 198 were damaged in Balochistan.
Calls for unity
Addressing international media as part of appeals for aid, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for national unity, urging Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan to set aside his disagreement with the incumbent government and work with it to provide relief for flood-hit populations.
“Let’s put together a united effort, let’s move with unity of thought and action, let’s move in unison,” he said, stressing this was not the first time he had sought to work with Khan, as he had earlier offered to develop a charter of economy that had been rejected by the PTI.
To a question, he said, a committee had been constituted to explore the possibility of importing vegetables and other food items from multiple sources, including Russia and India.
In various postings on Twitter, the prime minister also thanked global leaders, including those from Turkiye and China, for donating relief goods to Pakistan during this trying time.