As floods ravage parts of Pakistan, 1,456 people have been injured and 982 have died. As a result, the Shehbaz Sharif government has turned to the Pakistan Army for assistance in rescue and relief efforts. According to Pakistan’s disaster management organisation, more than 3,000 km of roads, around 150 bridges, and almost seven lakh homes have been washed away or destroyed as a result of the flooding.
As Pakistani media reported on Saturday, “at present, more than half of (the country) is under water and millions of people have been rendered homeless as a result of flash flooding generated by abnormal monsoon rains…”
Over 5.7 million people are without shelter and food due to unprecedented rains.
In the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh provinces, where heavy rain continues for a second day in a row and areas are blocked off owing to damaged roads and bridges, the media reported on a “new wave of death and destruction.”
The catastrophe also damaged crops and cattle.
According to the reports, Balochistan and Sindh were particularly hard hit, and several locations on Pakistan’s railway network had their operations interrupted.
Due to severe weather, Pakistan International Airlines on Friday suspended service to Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan.
Following the declaration of a “national emergency,” the Pakistani government, according to the reports will make a “flash plea” to the UN. $3 million has already been allotted by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund.
Due to the inability of the government to restore pipelines that were washed away by floods in the Bolan River, the floods and storms have also caused a severe gas shortage.