ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned of more floods, as the ongoing floods triggered by monsoon rains in the past two months have already killed 293 people, injured 564 and destroyed nearly 20,000 houses across the country.
In an warning issued here on Monday, the National Emergencies Operations Centre (NEOC) of NDMA anticipated more rain-wind/ thundershower in most parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Punjab for next two days, starting from September 2 night to 4th September 2024.
The NDMA said that in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, rains may increase flow in local nullahs and streams of Galliyat, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Kohistan, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Nowshera, Swabi on 2nd (night) and 3rd September.
Downpour may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Chakwal, Nowshera and Peshawar while low- to medium-level flash flooding is also expected in hill torrents of districts Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur from 2nd September (evening) to 3rd September 2024.
A fresh situation report released here by the NDMA said that the flash floods triggered by monsoon rains are continually playing havoc across the country as at least eight persons were killed, 35 injured, 56 houses were destroyed and 17 livestock were killed in the past 24 hours nationwide.
According to the NDMA, during the past 24 hours, six people lost their lives in Punjab and two in Sindh. Out of 35 flood-related injuries, 21 were reported in Punjab, 11 in Sindh, and three in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). The floods have also destroyed a total of 56 houses across the country, of which, 41 partially and 15 fully. At least 34 houses were damaged in AJK, nine in Punjab, seven in Balochistan, five in KPK and one in Sindh during the past 24 hours.
The floods have also damaged at least 75 kilometres long road in District Tharparkar area of Sindh as well as blocking the Karakoram Highway (KKH) at two places in District Gilgit.
This year, so far, the floods have claimed a total of 293 lives, 564 injured, 19,572 houses damaged and 1,077 livestock perished across the country.
According to the official flood-related data, children remained the most vulnerable to floods as out of 293 nationwide deaths, 151 are children and out of 564 injuries, 208 are children.
The floods have resulted in the deaths of 95 men and 47 women. The flash floods and other rains-related incidents have left 214 men and 142 women injured.
Punjab with 112 deaths and 302 injuries is the worst-affected province, followed by KPK with 88 deaths and 129 injuries; Sindh, 52 deaths and 98 injuries; Balochistan, 29 deaths and 15 injuries; Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), four deaths and one injury, and AJK, eight deaths and 19 injuries.
Out of 19,572 damaged houses countrywide, 17,633 are partially and 1,939 houses are completely destroyed.
Most of the houses are damaged in the past week as floods wreak havoc in Balochistan and Sindh.
The floods have damaged a total of 14,892 houses in Balochistan, of which, 14,019 are partially and 873 are fully; In Sindh, 3,121 houses are damaged, of which, 2,518 are partially and 603 are fully destroyed; in KPK, a total of 958 houses are damaged, of which, 698 are partially and 260 fully; in Punjab, 283houses are damaged, of which, 183 are partially and 100 are fully; in G-B, 174 houses are damaged, of which, 109 are partially and 65 are fully destroyed, and in AJK 144 houses are damaged, of which, 106 are partially and 38 are fully destroyed.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024