Nearly 300 dead in Pakistan floods, over two million affected

ISLAMABAD: Nearly 300 people have died and over two million affected due to rains and devastating floods in Pakistan, even as swelling waters continued to ravage the southern Punjab province, officials said today.

The floods were triggered after massive monsoon rains that started on September 3 and continued for several days.

Reema Zubari of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that 209 people have been killed in Punjab, 66 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and 14 in Gilgit-Baltistan region.

She said that more than 2,410,000 were affected in Punjab and over 40,000 in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The floods have also destroyed crops over 1.5 million acres, dislocating poor localities and washing away villages.

The force of deluge is now on the Panjnad headworks, which is the last main waterwork in Punjab, before it starts hitting southern province of Sindh.

TV channels reported that several villages were flooded after a breach in the Lakhpal embankment along the Chenab river.

They said the death toll from yesterday's capsized boat has reached 20. The boat was carrying a wedding party. The groom was among the dead.

The army and civilian rescue and relief workers are working hard to save people.

Meanwhile, life is becoming normal in the flood hit areas of Sialkot and Gujranwala.