Rains, floods kill 262 in Pakistan

http://statesman.com.pk

A total of 262 people have been reported killed and 815 injured so far this year as torrential monsoon rains and flash floods wreak havoc throughout the country, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Monday. Over 70,000 houses have also been reportedly damaged, with 51,027 partially and 19,465 completely damaged, said the official statistics which are updated until Sept 16. Approximately 3,883 villages, spreading over an area of over 1,345,531 acres, have been affected by the torrential rains. DawnNews reported that most casualties were reported in Sindh province, according to the data, with 106 people killed and 361 injured, and a total of approximately 273,000 people affected by the torrential rains. At least 58 people were killed and 272 injured in Punjab due to rain related accidents, with over 857,000 people affected in total in the province. Torrential rains and flooding killed 39 people and injured about 35 others in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 104 houses damaged. Meanwhile, 25 people were killed in Balochistan. Kashmir region recorded 31 deaths, while 3 people were reported killed in Islamabad region. INP ADDS: Heavy rains in upper parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday badly affected normal life as roads and low lying areas were flooded with water. Heay shower lashed parts of KP including Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Dir, Bajaur and Abbottabad. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, many districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, upper Punjab and Balochistan will receive more rain during next 12-hour. The rain which started in Rawalpindi and Islamabad around 1:00am continued for more than four hours. Nullah Leh which passes through Rawalpindi was flooded and the water level was recorded at 11.8 feet. Islamabad received 115 mm of rain while Okara received maximum of 117 mm. The rain affected smooth flow of traffic in the big cities as roads were flooded with water. According to reports, hill torrents of Koh-e-Suleman played havoc in Sothern Punjab as all the streams and nullahs were flowing over their embankment. Reports say that rural areas of Rajanpur districts were under feets of water. There was a 100 feet wide breach in Kadra canal that flood hundreds of acres of land. Met office said that Chenab and Jhelum rivers could witness high flood during the next twenty four hours. In Balochistan Jafferabad has been worst affected by rain and flood. One report said that water level at Jafferabad bypass was between 12 to 15 feet inundating vast areas and with rains in southern Punjab the water level was rising.