Death toll in Pakistan monsoon fury climbs to 883

Islamabad, Sep 4 (IANS) At least 883 people have died and nearly 1,200 others have been injured since late June as torrential monsoon rains unleashed devastation across Pakistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Since late Wednesday, rain-triggered incidents claimed the lives of two more children, one in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and another in Islamabad, local media reported on Thursday.

The NDMA on Wednesday, through its National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC), announced a new alert warning of possible rainfall in multiple regions of Pakistan over the next 12 to 24 hours.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab provinces have been hit the hardest, bearing the brunt of the disastrous heavy downpours.

KP has recorded 488 deaths and 360 injuries, while Punjab reported 223 fatalities and 648 injuries. Additionally, Sindh has confirmed 58 deaths, Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) 41, PoK 38, Balochistan 26, and Islamabad 9, leading Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune, reported.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) cautioned that the River Sutlej at the Ganda Singh Wala region in Punjab will remain at exceptionally high flood levels, while a fresh flood wave in the River Chenab could reach "very high to exceptional" levels from Marala downstream in Punjab.

Reports suggest that at River Panjnad, where the rivers Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej meet, floodwaters are expected to surge between September 4 and 5, posing a serious threat to thousands of acres of farmland and hundreds of villages.

The River Indus at Guddu town in Sindh province is also expected to reach "high to very high flood" levels by September 6 or 7. PMD warned that ongoing heavy rainfall in upper catchments could trigger urban flooding in Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad.

Authorities have issued rain alerts for Punjab, K-P, PoGB, and PoK, with scattered spells of rain expected in various regions of K-P, including Chitral, Dir, Swat, Buner, and Abbottabad.

Authorities also warned of potential flash flooding in low-lying areas, along with the threat of overflowing streams and landslides in hilly regions.

According to PDMA, Punjab floodwaters from the Chenab have submerged 261 villages in Jhang and at least two dozen in Muzaffargarh.

The raging floodwaters have also destroyed more than 9,200 houses -- including 4,700 in KP, and 2,100 in PoK, and swept away over 6,000 livestock.

The disaster has also damaged nearly 240 bridges and more than 670 kilometres of roads across Pakistan.

--IANS

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