Death toll from floods reaches 1,314 as 24 more die in a day
A flood victim stands amid the damages of his house, following rains and floods during the monsoon season, in Nowshera, Pakistan August 31, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
At least l24 more people died and 115 were injured due to flash floods in the last 24 hours, revealed the National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) on Monday.
The deaths raised Pakistan's the overall death toll due to floods to 1,314, and the total number of people injured to 12,703.
Armed forces' relief efforts
In a statement released by the NFRCC, the army's relief and rescue efforts for the flood victims were underway. So far, 147 relief camps and 284 donation centres have been established across the country for the collection and distribution of relief items to flood victims.
A total of 3,570 tons of food items, 463 tons of sustenance items and 1.7 million medicinal items have been collected through donations. However, out of these a total of 3,021 tons of food items, 407 tons of sustenance items and 1.4 million medicinal items have been distributed thus far.
Moreover, 232,811 ration packs alongside 1,617 tons of ration have been distributed by the Pakistan Army.
More than 250 medical camps have been established across the country, in which more than 93,000 patients have been treated and provided with three to five days of medicine, said the NFRCC.
Furthermore, 338 army aviation helicopters sorties have been flown to various areas to rescue stranded people. In the past 24 hours, 31 helicopters sorties were used to rescue 483 stranded individuals and deliver 41 tons of relief items to flood victims. A total of 3,585 stranded people have been rescued using these helicopter sorties.
Read Manchhar breached to save Sehwan
The Pakistan Navy has also conducted 38 helicopters sorties, rescued 10,956 people, provided 807 families with shelter, distributed 980 tons of ration and 300kg of medicines as well as treated 23,544 patients across the country.
Moreover, the Pakistan Air Force has conducted 152 air sorties, through which it has rescued 1,521 people and distributed 2,763 tents, more than 100,000 food packets and 1,280 tons of ration.
The Air Force has also established 16 tent cities, 41 relief camps and 35 free medical camps in which 27,156 patients have been treated.
Major activities
The NFRCC further stated that the construction of the Saggu bridge at N-95 in Dera Ismail Khan was currently in progress. The abutments have been completed and reached the bridge construction site.
Further, a release cut has been made at Manchhar lake to reduce pressure and protect Sehwan from flooding.
Weather forecast
According to a weather forecast, rain and thundershowers (isolated heavy rainfall) is expected in upper Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), upper Punjab, and Gilgit Baltistan (G-B) on Monday (today), the flood response centre stated.
However, mainly hot and humid weather was expected in most parts of the country. In the next 24 hours, the weather was expected to be partly cloudy with rain and thundershowers in a few locations in upper K-P, Northeast Punjab, G-B and Azaad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K).