Monsoon rains, floods 2023: 223 people died, 329 injured; 5,784 houses destroyed: NDMA

ISLAMABAD: The floods triggered by monsoon this year so far have resulted in the death of 223 people, injuring 329, destroying 5,784 houses, and killing 1,260 livestock during the current rainy season that started on June 25, 2023, provisional figures released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA),here on Friday revealed.

According to the NDMA report, the flood also resulted in displacing almost one million people and destroying standing crops on thousands of hectares of land, especially in Punjab, following the release of waters from the Indian side in Sutlej River.

According to the data, in Punjab a total of 314,361 people were transported from flood-hit districts of Sutlej River, 547,442 people were rescued and 310,535 animals were also safely transported to safer places during massive flooding in Sutlej River.

The flooding in River Sutlej belt has badly affected maize, cotton, paddy, sugarcane, and vegetable crops which recently have resulted in increasing the prices of onions, potatoes, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic as well as other vegetables.

Out of a total of 5,784 damaged houses, 2,026 have been completely destroyed and 3,758 partially damaged. The floodwaters have also swept away a total of five bridges of which four in Balochistan and one in G-B as well as sweeping away 23.82 kilometers of roads of which 22 kilometers in Balochistan and 1.82 kilometers in G-B. Most of the houses are damaged in Balochistan, wherein, a total of 4,193 houses are damaged, of which, 1,762 are fully destroyed and 2,431 are partially damaged, followed by 575 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), of which, 110 are fully destroyed and 465 are partially damaged. In the AJK region, a total of 482 houses are damaged, of which, 109 are fully destroyed and 373 are partially damaged.

The torrential rains resulted in the loss of 1,260 livestock, of which, 697 in Balochistan, 285 in KPK, 213 in Sindh, 37 in G-B, 25 in the AJK, and three in Punjab.

According to the NDMA’s data, the majority of the deaths are reported in Punjab where so far a total of 73 people including 33 men, 12 women, and 28 children have lost their lives, while another 173 people including 75 men, 55 women, and 43 children have sustained injuries. Moreover, 85 houses were also damaged in Punjab, of which, 80 were partially and five were fully destroyed and three livestock were also killed.

In KPK, 66 people including 19 men, 11 women, and 36 children have lost their lives owing to various rain-related incidents. In KPK, 92 people including 41 men, 19 women, and 32 children have been injured.

In Sindh province, 27 people including 11 men, five women, and 11 children died owing to rain-related incidents. The NDMA, so far, reported 10 injuries from Sindh, of which, five men, four women, and one child, and a total of 342 houses are damaged, of which, 18 fully and 324 partially.

In Balochistan province, a total of 21 people including eight men, five women, and eight children lost their lives, wherein, 27 people including 17 men, three women, and seven children sustained injuries.

In the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 11 men have lost their lives owing to the floodwaters and five men sustained injuries; no house has been damaged in Islamabad.

In the G-B region, floodwaters have killed seven people including three men, three women, and one child, while two men sustained injuries and 37 livestock losses were also reported in the region.

The authorities have reported 18 deaths in the AJK region, including four men, seven women, and seven children. In the AJK, 20 people including 10 men and 10 women also sustained injuries and floodwaters have killed 25 cattle in the region.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023