Another 27 people, including eight children, died in different rain and flood-related mishaps across Pakistan over the past 24 hours, pushing the overall tally to 1,191, according to the official statistics released on Thursday.
Of the latest fatalities, 15 were reported from southern Sindh, one from Punjab, seven from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and four from Balochistan provinces.
A total of 399 children and 246 women lost their lives while 3,641 people were wounded since mid-June, according to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Over 33 million Pakistanis in 80 districts across the country have been affected by the ongoing rainfall and floods, the NDMA said.
Read more: Lessons from 2022 floods in Pakistan
Constant rains and raging floods have already destroyed a large chunk of infrastructure and agricultural lands across the country, including tens of thousands of houses, roads, and bridges, and washed away nearly a million animals.
According to the NDMA, so far 468,030 people have been shifted to the shelter camps and 118,247 people were evacuated from most affected areas.
The heavy floods also damaged over 1.1 million houses, while 372,823 houses were completely destroyed. Some 731,818 animals also perished.
Meanwhile, humanitarian assistance to support Pakistan in these devastating floods also continued.
On Wednesday night, another Turkish flight with relief goods landed at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.
Read more: UN seeks $160 million for flood relief in Pakistan
Turkish Consul General Cemal Sangu along with representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NDMA welcomed the Turkish Aircraft.
“It may be noted that thus far, 7 relief flights from Turkiye have landed in Pakistan carrying relief goods for flood affectees,” said Asim Iftikhar, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.
“Pakistan is thankful to the government and people of Türkiye for their support and solidarity in this grave hour of need,” he said in a statement.
Pakistan PM visit to UAE postponed
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s scheduled visit on Sept. 3 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been postponed due to the ongoing floods in the country.
I was set to visit the UAE on Sept 3 on the invitation of HH the President. We mutually decided to postpone the visit so that I could focus on the ongoing rescue & relief activities. We will forever be indebted to our brothers & sisters who have stood by us in this challenge.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) September 1, 2022
“I was set to visit the UAE on Sept. 3 on the invitation of HH the President (Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan). We mutually decided to postpone the visit so that I could focus on the ongoing rescue & relief activities,” Sharif tweeted.
“We will forever be indebted to our brothers & sisters who have stood by us in this challenge,” he added.
Anadolu with additional input by GVS News Desk