At least 950 people have been killed in Pakistan while millions rendered homeless as rains and flash floods continued to wreak havoc in different parts of the country on Saturday.
Abnormal monsoon rains have entered their eighth spell with no signs of subsiding, submerging more than half of Pakistan under water as flight and train operations, as well as phone services, remain suspended in flood-hit areas.
The destruction of infrastructure and breakdown in communication links has added to the difficulties faced by the authorities in rescue and relief efforts in the region.
COAS Bajwa reaches Balochistan
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Saturday reached Balochistan where he was briefed about the flood situation in the province and response measures being taken to help the victims, the military's media wing said.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), COAS Bajwa visited flood relief and medical camps established at Goth Sadoori, Lakhra, and Lasbela, and inquired about well being of local people affected due to floods.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited several flood-affected areas of Sindh to gauge the magnitude of the disaster, calling for the nation to unite to face the calamity.
“Visiting flood affected areas and meeting people,” he tweeted. “The magnitude of the calamity is bigger than estimated. Times demand that we come together as one nation in support of our people facing this calamity. Let us rise above our differences and stand by our people who need us today.”
PM Shehbaz visits Sujawal
While on a visit to flooded areas of Sujawal, Sindh, PM Shehbaz said that Swat, Kalam and Dir districts saw relentless rains which resulted in loss of lives and damaged the infrastructure and buildings
“Helicopters are being used to rescue and large scale relief activities are underway,” he said. He promised immediate relief to people of Sujawal from the federal government.
The government will make a policy in collaboration with all provinces to work towards rehabilitation of victims, he announced.
MOFA directed to guide expats for aid
Meanwhile, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to guide overseas Pakistanis on how to making donations to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, reported Radio Pakistan.
He urged the foreign missions of Pakistan to add the donation-related information on their websites and launch a campaign to collect aid for flood victims in collaboration with Pakistanis living abroad.
“Entire nation will fight this disaster of climate change collectively,” he stressed. “The federal government, along with the armed forces, is providing full support to the provincial governments.”
He stressed that the top priority of the government is to provide relief, rescue and rehabilitation to the flood affected people.
Separately, the planning minister instructed the Ministry of Planning to review and revise the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to provide funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction of NHA and railway infrastructure that sustained damaged due to floods and rebuilding livelihoods of people.
Connectivity issues
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said that due to flash floods, damage to optical fibre cable and power outage, connectivity services have been impacted in Chitral, Upper Dir, Donbala, Swat, Medan, Lal Qila Samarbaghdir, Tank and DI Khan.
“PTA is monitoring the situation closely. Work is underway to fully restore services,” it stated in a tweet. “In this hour of need and calamity, PTA and cellular mobile operators stand shoulder to shoulder with the flood affected people.”
The PTA announced that CMOs would provide free voice calls (on-net / same network) to all their subscribers in flood affected areas with zero/ nil balance.
Acknowledging the efforts of CMOs in providing timely and instant relief to telecom consumers, the authority cited that there would be no call setup charges applicable on call connection and customers having no balance will be able to make on-net calls.
PTA continues to monitor the communication channels in the affected areas, ensuring #connectivity and providing updates, where necessary.
UK announces £1.5m for flood relief efforts in Pakistan
The UK has approved up to £1.5 million as urgent support for Pakistan after flooding in the country killed at least 900 people, the British High Commission in Islamabad said on Saturday. The statement noted that the £1.5m of humanitarian funding is being allocated from existing support to Pakistan and will go to the relief efforts in the areas worst hit by the flooding.
OIC expresses sorrow
Organization of the Islamic Conference Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha also expressed “deep sorrow over the casualties, massive destruction of property and loss of life resulting from the floods in Pakistan.”
In a tweet, the entity said that the secretary general offered sincere condolences to the government and people of Pakistan, expresses sympathies to the victims of the floods and appeals to all member states, Islamic humanitarian organisations and the international community at large for emergency assistance to mitigate the suffering of the affected populations.
116 districts affected by rains, floods
As per a report by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 116 districts have been affected with 66 districts declared ''calamity hit'' in Pakistan. The report further said that more than 1,300 have been injured with the nationwide rainfall 2.87 times higher than the national 30-year average.
Balochistan communication links snapped
Ministry approves army’s deployment
The government has approved the deployment of Pakistan Army in all four provinces to assist the civilian governments under Article 245 of the Constitution. The four provincial governments had sent a requisition to the Interior Ministry for the deployment of army in the flood-affected areas.
Moreover, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa will also visit flood-hit areas of Balochistan and Sindh on Saturday (today).
Pakistan's military has also said that every commissioned officer would donate a month's salary to the fund.
Flow in Kabul River rises above 250,000 cusecs
People are fleeing Nowshera Kalan after the collapse of a safety embankment built on the Kabul River resulting in a very high flood in the water body. Authorities imposed an emergency as Nowshera Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mir Reza Ozgen renewed his call for the relocation of the district’s residents to safer places.
Flash floods wreak havoc in Swat
With heavy rains continuing to batter parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), flash floods damaged houses and crops, blocked roads and caused power outages in Swat with several people leaving their houses due to the damage caused by the floodwater.
Flash floods wreak havoc in Swat
On the other hand, due to the floodwater of the Chenab river, residents have been facing food shortages, power outages. The people have lost their lands and animals. Their houses have also been swept away with the flash flood. The people of the area are living under the sky without any roof or shelter.
Balochistan
Balochistan has suffered the most during the devastating monsoon rains. As per the Met Office, Balochistan is witnessing the heaviest rainfall since 1961.
A major railway bridge washed away between Kolpur and Mach in Bolan Pass, cutting off Quetta, from the rest of country for an indefinite period, officials said.
All four highways linking Balochistan with other provinces were blocked because of damaged bridges and landslides.
Several people are stranded due to floods after the heavy rains, with rescue efforts underway to take people to safe places.
Supply of gas to various parts of Balochistan was also suspended as flooding in Bolan River washed away a 12-inch gas pipeline in Bolan district on Thursday.
PM announces Rs15bn grant for Sindh
Earlier, PM Shehbaz announced that the federal government will provide a grant of Rs 5 billion to the Sindh government to overcome the heavy losses of life and infrastructure.
He directed the relief and rescue staff to be available round-the-clock on duties to help the flood victims. He announced the disbursement of Rs25,000 per household through Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) starting Friday and onwards and said in one week, around Rs28 billion would be given to the affected people.
Also, medical camps are on the alert to extend treatment to patients in the flood-hit areas, he added. He said Nestle Pakistan had donated 100 tonnes of clean drinking water, of which 80 tonnes and 20 tonnes were to be supplied to the flood victims of Sindh and Balochistan, respectively.
Two million acres of cultivated crops had been wiped out in Sindh alone, the provincial disaster agency said, where many farmers live hand-to-mouth, season-to-season, the National Disaster Management Agency said on Friday.
International institutions announce $500m assistance
The international organisations and financial institutions announced immediate assistance of more than $500 million for the flood victims on the appeal of PM Shehbaz.
The PM chaired a meeting with international donors for providing relief to flood victims. Representatives of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, international financial institutions, development partners and donors attended.
Officials of China, the US and the European Union, agencies of the United Nations and World Health Organization also took part in the meeting.
Country Director World Bank for Pakistan, South Asia Region Najy Benhassine informed the PM of immediate assistance of $350 million from his organisation.
The World Bank will provide the financial assistance by the end of the current week.
Flash floods could trigger losses to tune of billions for Pakistan
In its report, brokerage house JS Global warned that flash floods could trigger losses to the tune of billions for the country, led by an increase in imports and export slowdown and higher inflation.
'Repercussions of $4bn': flash floods create havoc as Pakistan's economy remains under stress
The JS Global report noted that Pakistan, with direct agri contribution to GDP of 23%, could reach a vulnerable position in the aftermath of these floods.
"While too early to accurately quantify, our preliminary estimates suggest that repercussions may include more than $4 billion, higher-than-estimated imports in FY23, and a possible slowdown in exports from absence of cotton and partially rice.
Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan in a tweet said that people can donate to the "Prime Minister Flood Relief Fund".
Kharif crops at risk
On Thursday, the Ministry of Finance had also warned that the floods/torrential rains had adversely affected the standing Kharif crops, specifically cotton, which might impact economic outlook through agriculture performance.
“Recent floods driven by exceptionally heavy monsoon rains have reduced the potential output of both main and minor Kharif crops, thereby tempering the positive outlook of the agricultural sector,” said the ministry’s Economic Adviser’s Wing in its Monthly Economic Update & Outlook for August.
"Assessment of the crop damages is in progress by the provinces; however, significant losses can be witnessed. The present situation depicts water inundated cotton fields mostly in Sindh, Balochistan and southern districts of Punjab," it added.
Pakistan has been ravaged by torrential rains that have resulted in hundreds of deaths, while causing large-scale infrastructure damage.