Floods kill more than 100 people across Pakistan: NDMA

NDMA says 132 people have lost their lives in Sindh alone.

ISLAMABAD: Monsoon rains across the country have killed more than 100 people in a month and destroyed crops and houses in the flood-prone Sindh province, Express 24/7 reported on Monday.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said 132 people have lost their lives in Sindh alone.

Some 2.2 million people have been affected and 300,000 displaced by the floods in the province.

Most of the victims were killed as a result of falling roofs, drowning in flood waters and water-borne diseases.

The first spell of rain mainly affected seven southern districts of Sindh, while an ongoing second spell has hit the entire province, except its capital Karachi.

The meteorological office has forecast more rain this week.

Updated from print version (below)

Water could take 2 to 3 months to dry up: NDMA

As this year’s monsoon spell continues to inundate more areas causing massive flooding and affecting millions of people and property, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has said that flood water may take up to two to three months to dry up.

The NDMA said that once the water recedes, affected areas will be surveyed in detail. According to the NDMA, so far 88 people have died, 80 per cent of banana, date, chilli, sugar cane and cotton crops have been destroyed and nearly 100,000 cattle heads have either died or are missing.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has directed the NDMA to send more relief goods to flood-ravaged areas, especially the worst-hit areas of Sindh. In addition to the 17,740 tents and 283,000 family ration packs, the NDMA has despatched a further 50,000 family ration bags, 10,000 family tents and 10 motor boats for Sindh.

In the next two weeks, the NDMA will be sending 100,000 more tents, which is the maximum tent providing capacity of Pakistan.

The NDMA is in coordination with the relevant district and provincial disaster management authorities and is providing food to almost four million affected people.

In order to ensure provisions of timely rescue and relief services to the flood-hit population of Sindh, the NDMA had sent 25 response teams to various areas of the province on August 23 while another batch of response teams has been dispatched. These teams will take part in relief activities in Tando Allah Yar, Tando Jam, Tando Muhammad Khan, Jamshoro, Jacobabad, Badin, Thatta, Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad, and will coordinate with the Sindh PDMA, the relevant DDMAs and District Coordination Officers (DCO) to speed up relief efforts.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th,  2011.