Over 1,000 Dead in Pakistan’s Monsoon Floods

ISLAMABAD—Deaths from widespread flooding in Pakistan topped 1,000 since mid-June, officials said Sunday.

Flash flooding from the heavy rains has washed away villages and crops as soldiers and rescue workers evacuated stranded residents to the safety of relief camps and provided food to thousands of displaced Pakistanis.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority reported the death toll since the monsoon season began earlier than normal this year—in mid- June—reached 1,061 people after new fatalities were reported across different provinces.

Flooding from the Swat River overnight affected northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where tens of thousands of people—especially in the Charsadda and Nowshehra districts—have been evacuated from their homes to relief camps set up in government buildings. Many have also taken shelter on roadsides, said Kamran Bangash, a spokesperson for the provincial government.

Bangash said some 180,000 people have been evacuated from Charsadda and 150,000 from Nowshehra district villages.

The monsoon season has affected all four of the country’s provinces. Nearly 300,000 homes have been destroyed, numerous roads rendered impassable, and electricity outages have been widespread, affecting millions of people.

The government has deployed soldiers to help civilian authorities in rescue and relief operations across the country. The Pakistani army also said in a statement it airlifted a 22 tourists trapped in a valley in the country’s north to safety.

Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif visited flooding victims in city of Jafferabad in Baluchistan. He vowed the government would provide housing to all those who lost their homes.

The Associated Press

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