Floods move south, threat continues

Flood torrents entered Jacobabad city on Saturday after wreaking havoc in the upper parts of the country.

Earlier, the district administration of Jacobabad tried to divert the flood torrent towards Jaffarabad and other areas of Balochistan by damaging the Sindh-Balochistan Bypass. But the work was halted due to the protest of the Jaffarabad District Administration.

Floods are also posing a threat to more than 2,400 villages of Kacha area in Sindh. The army, navy, Rangers and the district administration have completed evacuation of more than 500,000 people from the threatened areas.

Around 714 relief camps have been set up in 16 districts, including Sukkur, Ghotki, Dadu, Larkana and Thatta, while the government has reserved Rs25 million for providing relief to more than 900,000 people in the threatened areas.

Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah called for joint efforts in facing the challenge of devastating floods across the country.

Muzaffargarh still under threat

A flood torrent is also advancing from Rohilanwali towards Sultan city of Muzaffargarh.

Many villages in Rohilanwali have been submerged, while a huge torrent of 789,000 cusecs to 110,000 cusecs from River Indus is moving closer to Sultan, Jatoi and Alipur areas.

Thousands of people have been rendered homeless due to the flooding. Many are stranded at the highway and are awaiting relief.

Many people are also suffering from water-borne diseases due to lack of medical supplies in the flood-affected areas.

Federal assistance not enough: Hoti

The threat of flooding in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is slowly receding, but the water levels are still rising because of persistent showers.

The Meteorological Department said rain showers will continue for two days in the plains and on higher ground in the province.

Diseases such as dysentery and cholera have been reported in flooded areas.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Amir Haider Hoti said federal assistance for the flood struck people of his province is not enough.

Speaking at a flag hoisting ceremony at Police Lines in Peshawar, Hoti said the floods have devastated the province and caused a loss of Rs200 billion in damages. He said a full survey of the affected areas will be conducted and findings on damage assessment will be shared with the federal government.

Hoti claimed that the rescue operations have been completed but the provincial government is struggling to rehabilitate the affectees.