More than 10,000 people rescued from floods in Pakistan Punjab’s Multan

Lahore, Sep 8 (PTI) More than 10,000 people have been rescued by authorities in the last 24 hours after floodwaters entered Multan, a historic city in Pakistan’s Punjab province, a minister said on Monday.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari, in a press conference, said at least 60 people have lost their lives in the floods in the province since August 23.

Bokhari said the flood has entered the historic city of Multan. “In the past 24 hours, over 10,00 people stuck in the floodwater have been rescued in Multan,” she added.

At least 4,355 villages have been submerged since the floods began, impacting more than 4.2 million people, she said. So far, 2.1 million people and 1.5 million livestock have been shifted to safe locations, Bokhari informed.

Currently, 412 relief camps are operational across the province, housing 68,980 people, she said.

“For medical support, 492 medical camps and 432 veterinary camps have been set up, where 193,806 people have been treated,” the minister said.

The minister said the Punjab government expresses solidarity with the people of India’s Punjab for facing unprecedented floods.

“On behalf of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and the people of the province, we express solidarity with India’s Punjab,” she said.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Punjab, the Ganda Singh Wala headwork on the river Sutlej has an exceptionally high flood after India alerted Pakistan of releasing more flood water.

In the Chenab river, a very high flood is expected to persist at Panjnad headworks for the next 24 hours and the nullahs of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur may experience flash flooding from Monday to Wednesday.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), at least 910 people have lost their lives in the torrential rains and flash floods across the country since June 26.

At least 910 people, including 241 children, 520 men, and 149 women, have lost their lives in flood-hit areas of the country in incidents related to torrential rains and flash flooding since June 26, according to the NDMA.

In Punjab, 234 people died, including 91 children, 104 men, and 39 women. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the death toll reached 504, with 90 children, 338 men, and 76 women among the victims, the NDMA said.

Sindh reported 58 fatalities, comprising 24 children, 26 men, and eight women, while Balochistan reported 26 fatalities, including 16 children, six men, and four women, it said.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, 41 people lost their lives, among them were six children, 26 men, and nine women.

Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) recorded 38 deaths, comprising nine children, 17 men, and 12 women. Nine people died in Islamabad Capital Territory, including five children, three men, and one woman.

Separately, a total of 133,887 people have been evacuated to safer locations in Sindh province, ahead of possible floods, Sindh senior minister Sharjeel Memon said in a social media post on Monday. PTI MZ GSP GSP