Pakistan floods, rains kill 12 more people; toll reaches 15

ISLAMABAD: At least 12 more people were killed in Pakistan due to floods triggered by monsoon rains, taking the death toll to 15, officials said today.

Rains started last week in different parts of the country, causing floods in different rivers and streams.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that seven people were killed in Balochistan, three in Punjab province and two in Gilgit-Baltistan in the north.

Earlier, three persons were killed in Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, devastated due to flash floods caused by heavy downpour.

NDMA said that in the largest province of Punjab, 366 villages and about 2,00,000 people were affected, while crops on 2,05,366 acres of land were damaged.

In Balochistan, at least 106 houses were destroyed while another 80 were destroyed in Gilgit-Baltistan region due to rains and floods.

The situation in Chitral has improved but roads and bridges swept away by floods have not been fully restored yet.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today visited Rahimyar Khan district in Punjab to see the measures taken by authorities to deal with floods.

"So far, I am satisfied with the official response but it is time that we should be alert to deal with any emergency situation," he said.