ISLAMABAD: As torrential monsoon rains inundate villages and farmlands across Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, an army of volunteers from national and international charities is racing against rising waters to pull stranded families to safety, deliver food to marooned communities and erect makeshift shelters for the hundreds of thousands uprooted by the floods.
Punjab, the country’s most populous and breadbasket province, has been facing a flood-emergency, fueled by above-normal rains and India’s release of excess water, which has affected more than 2.4 million people and killed 41 people in the last 10 days, according to the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA).
Floodwaters have submerged more than 3,100 villages, forcing authorities and charity organizations to relocate over 900,000 people and around 600,000 livestock to safety. Nationwide, rains, floods and landslides have killed at least 863 people since June 26 when the monsoon season first began.
The Al-Khidmat Foundation (AKF), one of the largest Pakistani charitable organizations, says it has sent 10,000 volunteers, along with motorboats and necessary logistics, to flood-affected areas in Punjab, where they have been rescuing marooned communities and livestock and taking care of them at temporary shelters.
