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Rains kill 95 people in southern Pakistan
Islamabad, July 29: In one of the worst monsoon spells in southern Pakistan, at least 95 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced forcing authorities to declare an emergency in Sindh province, officials said today.
Islamabad, July 29: In one of the worst monsoon spells in southern Pakistan, at least 95 people have died and tens of thousands have been displaced forcing authorities to declare an emergency in Sindh province, officials said today.
The continuous downpour for six days has inundated about 5000 villages and affected some 400,000 people in Sindh province, officials said.
"It is a calamity. A very large chunk of land has been devastated, crops have been destroyed, and people are suffering," Salahuddin, the information adviser to the Sindh government said.
He said, Sindh's chief minister has declared an emergency, and the provincial governor has set up a relief cell to coordinate humanitarian efforts amidst pounding rains. Army and navy personnel had been called in to assist local administrations, he said.
"A squall which is building up over the Rajasthan desert in India at the moment is likely to hit Sindh within the next 24 to 48 hours," Hasrat Mir, an official at the Sindh meteorological office in Karachi said.
"The next two days are critical, because there will be much more rain," he added.
The Sindh authorities were preparing for a worst-case scenario and intended to evacuate locals should the impending storm worsen matters, Salahuddin said.
An official working for the Edhi trust, a relief agency in Badin town, said by telephone that 14 people have been killed yesterday in flood-related incidents in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province.
Bureau Report
"It is a calamity. A very large chunk of land has been devastated, crops have been destroyed, and people are suffering," Salahuddin, the information adviser to the Sindh government said.
He said, Sindh's chief minister has declared an emergency, and the provincial governor has set up a relief cell to coordinate humanitarian efforts amidst pounding rains. Army and navy personnel had been called in to assist local administrations, he said.
"A squall which is building up over the Rajasthan desert in India at the moment is likely to hit Sindh within the next 24 to 48 hours," Hasrat Mir, an official at the Sindh meteorological office in Karachi said.
"The next two days are critical, because there will be much more rain," he added.
The Sindh authorities were preparing for a worst-case scenario and intended to evacuate locals should the impending storm worsen matters, Salahuddin said.
An official working for the Edhi trust, a relief agency in Badin town, said by telephone that 14 people have been killed yesterday in flood-related incidents in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province.
Bureau Report