ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The United States will send six flights carrying relief aid for flood-affected people in Pakistan, the military said in a statement after the arrival of the first consignment on Saturday, as three major rivers flowing from India continued to surge at multiple points with forecasters warning of fresh torrential rains until Sept. 9.
Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province has been battered by devastating floods since late last month, owing to torrential monsoon rains and major water releases by upstream India into the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers, killing 50 people and bringing the seasonal death toll in the province to 231 since June.
Punjab is also home to half of the country’s 240 million people and accounts for much of its wheat and rice production, creating food security concerns as initial estimates suggest 1.3 million acres of agricultural land have been inundated in the province amid the flooding of the three rivers. Nationwide, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said 905 people have been killed in rain and flood-related incidents since the monsoon began on June 26.
Earlier in the day, the US embassy announced in a social media post that an American military aircraft had delivered essential supplies for flood relief at the request of the Pakistani military, adding that its Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker extended condolences to the people of Pakistan, whose lives have been uprooted by the widespread, catastrophic flooding.
