Boats, helicopters evacuate flood victims
Quetta:rescuers backed by troops used boats and helicopters on Wednesday to evacuate hundreds of marooned people from the country’s southwest, where floods triggered by monsoon rains have killed 104 people.
At least 105 people died, 61 injured whereas over 1,000 have been displaced due to torrential rains and flash floods in Balochistan, spokesperson Farah Azeem Shah said on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference here, she said due to recent floods in the province over 5000 livestock and houses were completely damaged, whereas partial loss occurred to over 7000 houses.
Out of total of 220 disconnected roads, around 185 have been restored while work on the restoration of 34 was in progress.
Likewise, the rains also damaged 44 bridges out of which 38 were restored. Different types of machinery including loaders, tractors, excavators were also deployed in the field to carry out relief operations in a smooth way.
There was no loss that occurred to major dams, however, 1,020 small dams were damaged on which rehabilitation work underway, she maintained.
Sharing details of relief measures taken by the Balochistan government, she said the provincial government continued relief operation in the rain-affected districts by utilising all available resources.
“The Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo released Rs. 92.4 million for the families of rain victims and deceased persons,” she said.
Since June 14, the downpours have damaged bridges, roads, and about 4,000 homes in Balochistan province, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
It said 337 people have died in rain-related incidents across impoverished Pakistan.
Akram Bugti, a rescue official, said hundreds of people were stranded just in Lasbella, a district in Balochistan province, ater floodwater inundated several villages.
He said the Balochistan government is providing food, tents and other essential items to flood-affected people.
In a statement, Pakistan’s military said the previous day that troops were assisting local authorities in Balochistan to evacuate people from flood-affected areas.
It said the military had set up medical camps in deluged areas, where the World Health Organisation this week launched an anti-cholera vaccination campaign to prevent the spread of the water-borne disease.