ISLAMABAD: The death toll from floods in Pakistan’s Punjab has increased to 60, provincial information minister Azma Bokhari announced on Monday, as authorities continue to evacuate citizens from high-risk areas.
The provincial government has had its hands full with rescue and relief activities since late August, when heavy monsoon showers and releases from Indian dams caused water levels in Punjab’s rivers to rise. The resulting floods have affected over 4,335 areas, killed 60 while the provincial government has shifted 2.147 million people and 1.549 million animals to safer locations, Bokhari said.
“Unfortunately, the total deaths are 60 and there are eight injured,” the minister told reporters at a news conference, adding that around 1,543 livestock have been killed.
She said fields of sugarcane, rice, cotton and vegetables have been affected by the floods, adding that 1.841 million acres of fields have been adversely impacted by the floods.
Bokhari urged people to take the flood crisis seriously and heed warnings by government officials to shift to safer locations from their homes.
