ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top economic decision-making body on Tuesday approved the release of Rs3 billion ($10.8 million) in emergency funds for flood-affected families in northern Gilgit-Baltistan, while more than 150,000 people were evacuated from Punjab’s Sutlej and Ravi river belts amid rising waters.
The decision came as the latest spell of monsoon rains continued to devastate much of the country, leaving nearly 800 people dead since late June.
Pakistan has been battered by heavy rains since the start of the monsoon season on June 26. The most devastating spell began on Aug. 15 and has killed at least 485 people since, underscoring the scale of the disaster in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported at least 479 deaths since the monsoons started, followed by Punjab with 165, Sindh 54, Gilgit-Baltistan 45, Balochistan 24, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 23, and the capital Islamabad eight, according to official figures.
“The Economic Coordination Committee approved the release of Rs3 billion for timely provision of tents, medicines, food and other essential supplies for the affected families, as well as for reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and early recovery measures to support the affected communities,” the finance ministry said in a statement after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a meeting of the ECC.
