At least 13 people are dead after heavy monsoon rains and flooding wreaked havoc in several parts of Pakistan, officials said yesterday.
Persistent rain flooded dozens of villages in the southern province of Sindh and the southwestern province of Baluchistan during the last three days.
At least seven people were killed in Karachi, the country’s most populous city.
Additionally, six people lost their lives in Baluchistan in the last 24 hours, officials said.
Hundreds of people were displaced by flooding in both the provinces.
Rescue workers were busy shifting people to safer places.
The military said yesterday that it had rescued more than 100 people from Dadu district in Sindh.
“More than a dozen people are still missing in Baluchistan,” Younus Aziz Mengal, a spokesperson for the provincial disaster management authority said.
He said that the flooding had damaged bridges and highways, cutting off Gawadar, a port city on the Arabian Sea.
The Baluchistan government has declared emergency in all hospitals of the province.
Parliamentary Secretary Health Dr Rubbaba Khan Buledi has directed all the concerned health officers to ensure their presence in districts to ensure close co-ordination with administration.
She said that Balcohistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan is himself monitoring the situation.
Pakistan’s Met office predicted 20% more rain and urban flooding this monsoon season and asked authorities to take precautionary measures.
Flash floods, land erosion, cloudbursts, droughts and smog resulting in low air quality have been on the rise in Pakistan in recent years.
Climate experts say it is the impact of global warming, but also due to the country’s proximity to highly industrialised China and India.
Men take shelter from monsoon rainfall at Lahore’s Wazir Khan Mosque.
