Islamabad: The number of people killed in rain-related incidents in Pakistan over the past few weeks has reached more than 500 as flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains continue to lash the country’s south-western provinces.
The National Disaster Management Authority in its latest report on Wednesday said 502 people including 98 women and 191 children were among the dead.
The rains and flooding damaged more than 40,000 houses and over 2,500 km road, leaving thousands homeless and stranded in remote villages, dpa news agency reported quoting the NDMA report.
Balochistan and Sindh provinces were hardest-hit by the flooding after the heaviest rains in recorded history lashed the South Asian nation amid heightened concerns about climate change.
Millions of people including children were at risk of waterborne diseases in flood-hit regions where the military and rescue agencies were trying to reach and evacuate the stranded.
Flash floods, heat waves, cloudbursts, droughts and smog resulting in low air quality have been on the rise in Pakistan in recent years.
