ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Quetta on Monday to visit flood-affected areas and interact with people in the southwestern Balochistan province during a daylong visit.
Pakistan has witnessed torrential rains since mid-June, leading to flash floods in different parts of the country.
According to a recent situation report circulated by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 434 people have lost their lives in rains in different parts of Pakistan since the onset of monsoon.
In Balochistan, nine people lost their lives in the last 24 hours, taking the overall death toll to 136 in rains since the beginning of the season.
“Chairman National Disaster Management Authority Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz briefed the prime minister regarding the relief and rescue activities while onboard the flight to Quetta,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported.
Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz (right) briefs Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (left) on his way to Quetta, Balochistan, on Aug 1, 2022. (APP)
The prime minister is expected to visit Qila Saifullah and Chaman in Balochistan to see the situation on the ground.
His visit to the southwestern province comes at a time when the meteorological department of Pakistan has predicted more than normal rain in the month of August.
The Met Office has also forecast relatively high temperatures in mountainous areas, indicating a faster rate of snowmelt that may result in floods in the area.
Experts have already warned that climate change has made monsoon highly erratic in terms of its onset, intensity and area of coverage.
One of them, Dr. Ghulam Rasul, told Arab News last week that monsoon had started penetrating “shadow zones,” including Balochistan and high mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, which it did not affect in the past.
