ISLAMABAD: The overall death toll from monsoon rains in Pakistan since Jun. 26 have surged to 985, official figures said on Monday, as the country continues to reel from floodwaters which are now receding in Punjab and flowing downstream toward the southern Sindh province.
Pakistan has reported 985 deaths from flash floods, house collapses, landsliding and other rain-related incidents since the onset of the monsoon season in June. The northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported the highest deaths, 504, followed by Punjab with 287 casualties, Sindh with 80 deaths, Gilgit-Baltistan with 41 deaths, Azad Kashmir with 38 casualties, Balochistan 26 and Islamabad nine.
Moreover, floods in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province have killed 104 people since late August, affected over 4.5 million and inundated thousands of acres of farmland, authorities say. Water levels in Pakistan’s Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers had swollen due to heavy monsoon rains and excess water released by Indian dams. These water levels are now receding in Punjab as the floods head downstream toward Sindh.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab said in report on Sunday that the water level at Sindh’s Guddu Barrage, one of the two main barrages that channels water toward southern and central Sindh, has now reached a level of 635,759 cusecs of water inflows and 606,489 cusecs of water outflow. The report said the water level is expected to rise to 650,000–700,000 cusecs by the night of Sept. 15.
