ISLAMABAD: At least 33 people have been killed due to torrential rains and floods in Pakistan’s Punjab this week, a senior official confirmed on Sunday, as authorities ramp up rescue and relief activities with nearly 750,000 citizens evacuated to safer locations as deluges devastate the eastern province.
Punjab, Pakistan’s richest and most prosperous province, has been hit hard by floods triggered by heavy monsoon showers and excess water released by India this week.
Punjab’s flooding crisis comes amid what the Met Office described as the ninth spell of monsoon rains, expected to continue until Sept. 2 as authorities struggle to provide food, medical aid and protection to citizens in all districts of the province affected by dangerously rising water levels in rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej.
“As per the latest death reported in Chiniot, the total number of flood-related deaths has risen to 33 [this week],” Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia told reporters during a news briefing.
He said nearly 750,000 people had been evacuated from high-risk flood areas to safer locations while at least 2,200 villages in Punjab and over 2 million people had been affected by the floods, warning that both numbers were continuing to rise.
