ISLAMABAD, Sept 5 (Bernama-dpa) — Authorities in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh on Friday were accelerating plans to evacuate thousands from riverbeds as a massive deluge approached after affecting 4 million people in the central region of Punjab, according to officials, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
Soldiers and rescuers backed by boats, ambulances and helicopters were on the alert as the Indus River started to swell, said Sharjeel Memon, the provincial information minister.
“We expect to rescue millions of people. We are ready with food, medicines and tents to accommodate them,” Memon told media in his daily flood briefing.
At least 884 people have been killed in flash floods, landslides, cloudbursts and glacial lake outbursts triggered by weeks of erratic rains since late June, the National Disaster Agency said.
At least 4 million were affected in the central province of Punjab alone, where authorities had rescued more than 2 million people after rivers swelled following massive inflows from neighbouring India, Regional Minister Azma Bokhari said.
“The situation remains dramatic in Punjab. Houses are flooded and it is uncertain when people can return,” said Isabel Bogrinsky from the German organisation Welthungerhilfe (World hunger help), which works in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s meteorological department predicted another spell of heavy rains between Saturday and Tuesday, prompting fears of further flooding.
Monsoon, a season of heavy rains in South Asian regions that runs from July to September, has been unpredictable and harsher in recent years under the impact of climate change, killing thousands every year and affecting millions.
More than 2,000 people were killed in super floods that hit Pakistan in 2022, submerging a third of the country, which amounts to a landmass more than the size of the United Kingdom.
— BERNAMA-dpa