On Thursday, rescue and relief efforts continued in the flood-stricken Dadu district of Sindh, where water levels had risen to “eight to nine feet” in some areas and where Pakistanis were preparing for another bout of above-normal rainfall this month.
Since June 14, the National Disaster Management Authority’s daily update has shown that floodwaters have submerged a third of the country due to abnormally heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers, killing at least 1,191 people, including 399 children. Other twenty-seven people have passed away in the past day.
Khairpur Nathan Shah in Sindh’s Dadu district has been hit the hardest by the flooding caused by waters from the north.
He also stated that the military and paramilitary Rangers were contributing to relief operations. The Pakistani Army’s Rangers Directorate General Major General Iftikhar Hassan and Brigadier Hasanat and Ijaz are in charge of the rescue operation, Shah said.
He also mentioned that flash floods had severed connections between Dadu city and Johi, an area eight kilometres away.
Near a major highway that had been flooded overnight, residents of Mehar gathered with sandbags to create new dikes and reinforce existing ones. Mehar is located about 60 kilometers to the north.
Twenty-year-old Damshad Ali told Reuters, “We have been working to make and reinforce this dike since early morning.” Ali and his family plan to remain in the flooded area. A man who was nearby shouted for assistance.
From atop a pile of sandbags, he urged locals to help strengthen the dikes, saying, “I appeal to all young men to come join the dike strengthening, God willing we will save the city of Mehar from the flood waters.”
The water level in the Main Nara Valley drain in Khairpur Nathan Shah and Johi talukas is rising, as DC Shah reported to Dawn.com the day before.
After accompanying diplomats from more than 20 countries on a flight over the flooded areas of Sindh yesterday, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari emphasized the province’s immediate need for Rs860 billion to rebuild collapsed homes, repair roads, and revive agriculture.
Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, was informed yesterday that 24 districts, 102 talukas, and 5,727 dehs in the province had been declared calamity-hit due to the recent disaster.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a health crisis alert after receiving reports that 116 of the country’s 154 districts have been impacted by flooding due to heavy rains. This has led to the destruction of at least 888 health facilities.
WHO estimates that 6.4 million people, including 421,000 flood refugees, are in critical need of humanitarian assistance.
