Monsoon devastation: Floods killed 178, affected 1.5m people: NDMA

Rains had wounded 855 people, affected 5,615 villages and destroyed 20,312 houses, says NDMA

ISLAMABAD:

Floods and heavy monsoon rains have killed 178 people and affected 1.5 million across Pakistan in the last three weeks, officials said on Sunday while giving an updated figure.

“At least 178 people have died; while 1,503,492 others have got affected by recent monsoon rains and floods across Pakistan,” a senior National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) official told the AFP.

He said the rains had wounded 855 people, affected 5,615 villages and destroyed 20,312 houses all over the country.

On Wednesday the figures stood at nearly one million people affected and 139 dead.

Nearly 350 relief camps have been set up to help people, mostly in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan, the official said.

“Further heavy monsoon rains are expected in Pakistan next month, but the NDMA is fully prepared,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2013.