LAHORE: Flood rescue teams of the Punjab Emergency Service department are working continuously in all riverine flood-affected districts, evacuating the flood affectees and providing transportation with essential livelihood.
The resources have been deployed according to the flood vulnerability districts and presently major transportation activities have been carried out in Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Bhawalnagar, Vehari, Bahawalpur, and Lodhran, a spokesman of the service, said.
Moreover, Rescue 1122 responded to 163630 emergencies during the month of July 2023 and provided emergency care to 308232 people. Out of these, 75513 people were transported, 25223 evacuated, and 5359 animals were relocated to safe places from flood-affected areas.
Parallel to flood rescue operations in 163630 routine emergencies, Rescue Service responded to 33888 road traffic crashes (RTCs), 101521 medical emergencies, 1481 fire incidents, 4128 crime incidents, 211 drowning incidents, 132 structural collapses, 1278 Animal Rescue and 20991 miscellaneous operations in Punjab.
As many as 279 people died in 33888 RTCs in Punjab during the last month. Out of these traffic accidents, the majority of traffic accidents 7204 occurred in Lahore in which 34 people died.
Similarly, 2412 RTCs in Faisalabad, 2361 RTCs in Multan, 1743 in Gujranwala, 1164 in Rawalpindi, and 1075 in Sheikhupura while the remaining 17929 traffic crashes took place in 30 districts of Punjab.
Similarly, out of 1481 fire cases, the majority of fire incidents took place in major districts i.e., 563 incidents in Lahore, 102 in Faisalabad, 100 in Rawalpindi, 57 each in Multan and Gujranwala and 46 in Bahawalpur. The remaining 556 were reported in 30 districts.
The Secretary ESD Dr Rizwan Naseer expressed grave concern over the loss of 438 lives in Punjab during the last month. Among them, road traffic crashes claimed 279 lives, while 159 individuals drowned in different emergencies all over Punjab. He stressed adhering to safety protocols during bathing in water bodies to prevent further drowning incidents.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023