Pakistan Proclaims National Emergency As Flood-Related Toll Surpassed 1,000

The Pakistani government proclaimed the calamitous widespread floods a national emergency as monsoon rains washed away villages in Pakistan with over 1,000 people losing their lives and more than 30 million people directly affected.

As Pakistan's climate minister described the fatal monsoon season as“a serious climate catastrophe,” foreign media reported that far more than 1,000 people have died in Pakistan from extensive flooding since mid-June.

After further fatalities were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Sindh provinces, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) revealed that the number of flood-related deaths since the monsoon season began earlier than usual this year — in mid-June — had reached 1,033.

Pakistani soldiers and rescuers reportedly evacuated stranded locals to safety in relief camps and offered food to hundreds of displaced Pakistanis as villages and crops were wiped away by flash flooding caused by the torrential rains.

Millions of people in Pakistan have been affected by extensive electrical outages, nearly 300,000 homes have been demolished, and many routes have been left inaccessible due to the devastating floods affecting all four of Pakistan's provinces.

In light of the most devastating flooding in decades, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is reported to have postponed his official visit to the United Kingdom, appealing for aid.

“The ongoing rain spell has caused devastation across the country,” the Pakistani Prime Minister tweeted on Friday.

• Saqalain Eqbal

  Saqalain Eqbal is an Online Editor for Khaama Press. He is a Law graduate from The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF).

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