Death toll rises to 89 as rains continue to wreak havoc in Punjab, Kashmir

Reports confirm 0.9 million cusecs of water has entered Pakistan

LAHORE: As rain continued to wreak havoc in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the death toll from 30 hours of continuous downpour rose to 89 on Thursday, Express News reported. The calamity has claimed 48 lives in Punjab and 41 in Kashmir.

MET authorities had warned yesterday that the downpour will go on for the next few days.

A report given to the Indus River Commission - which comprises Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers - confirmed that 0.9million cusecs of water has entered Pakistan.

The Pakistan Army has asked people to vacate their homes, taking with them their personal and expensive items, as roofs continue to collapse - main cause of deaths so far.

One man was killed while another was trapped under the rubble of a collapsed house after a rock fell on it due to a landslide in Rawalpindi. Rescuers are currently trying to remove the trapped person to safety.

A Pakistan Army soldier drowned in a flash flood while rescuing residents in Sialkot. Siar Khan was part of a unit which has come from Gujranwala to help the rain-affected people.

Traffic in Lahore also came to a standstill due to the monsoon rains and residents were confined to their homes. Metro bus service to Gulberg was also suspended as roads in the area were completely flooded.

Rizwan Naseer, the director general of rescue services in Punjab, told AFP that in Lahore alone 18 people were left dead and 53 others were injured as a result of the flooding.

Economic activity at Lakshmi Chowk, the bustling main centre of Lahore, also came to a halt. Rain water further made its way in to all the underpasses in the city.

Naseer warned that the death toll was likely to rise as reports were coming in of floodwaters sweeping through villages in rural areas.

Kashmir

At least 38 people were killed in Pakistani-administered Kashmir with nine injured, Akram Sohail, chairman disaster management agency in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir told AFP.

"Most of them died due to landslides, roof collapse and drowning," Sohail said and added that heavy rains have destroyed communication links with remote villages.

In Muzaffarabad, two roads which connect the city to the rest of Pakistan have been blocked because of landslides.

Several houses have come down, many people have been injured and more have been made homeless due to the current weather situation. Phone connectivity has also been disrupted in the region.

Further, in Hajira, a small town in Azad Kashmir, up to 500 locals are trapped between a landslide and flash floods. There is around 600 millimeters of rain in the area, making it all the more difficult for the people trying to escape.

The residents have tried to use tractor trolleys to make way out of the town but the attempts have proved futile.

Residents living along the Neelum and Jhelum river banks in Muzaffarabad were being evacuated as the water level was rapidly rising.

Also in mountainous Kashmir, three soldiers died on Thursday in a mudslide near the de facto border with India, which like Pakistan claims the territory as its own.

Army's relief efforts

According to an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release, besides ground troops, 80 boats and eight army aviation helicopters are taking part in rescue operations in flood hit areas in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Head Marala, Mandi Bahauddin, Khanki and Qadirabad.

Further, army troops have been alerted at Mangla if rescue operations need to be carried out at Jhelum and Jhang.

Army troops are also carrying out rescue operations in district Hajira of Rawalakot in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The army is clearing the Rawalakot to Hajira road blocked due to a landslide.

PM summons emergency meeting

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has summoned an emergency meeting to discuss relief efforts, Express News reported.

Further, he has asked ministers to monitor relief efforts in their constituencies.

DESIGN: Talha Khan