ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday said it had dispatched relief goods to flood-affected districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as monsoon rains continue to wreak havoc in the north of the country.
Since late June, heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 660 people across Pakistan, damaged infrastructure and triggered flash floods and landslides in the country’s mountainous north, according to official data. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said late Tuesday that at least 358 people had died and 181 were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the latest spell of rains that began last week.
It said Buner district was the worst-hit, with 225 deaths. Fatalities across the province included 287 men, 41 women and 30 children, while 780 houses were damaged, nearly half of them completely destroyed.
“NDMA’s dispatch of relief goods for flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is continuing,” the authority said in a statement. “This morning, two separate consignments were sent for Swat and Shangla.”
The consignments include tents, blankets, generators, dewatering pumps, ration bags and medicines, the NDMA said, adding that the goods would be handed over to district administrations for distribution among affected people.
The agency said it was working with the armed forces and welfare organizations to ensure timely delivery of relief supplies to flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.
“NDMA is in constant contact with all concerned civil and military institutions,” it added.
Changing climate has made residents of northern Pakistan’s river-carved mountainous areas more vulnerable to sudden, heavy rains.
More than 150 people were still missing in Buner after Friday’s flash floods. The NDMA has issued alerts for further flooding, with new rains forecast in many parts of the country through Aug. 21.
The United States on Tuesday expressed its “deep sorrow” over the loss of life and destruction caused by the flooding in a social media post.
Several other countries, including Russia and Gulf states, have also conveyed condolences to Pakistan.
