The provincial governments and Pakistan's meteorological body warned that Rivers Swat and Indus could swell, leading to more flash floods which will impact the residents of these regions, The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government in Pakistan has declared a rain emergency in several districts of the province until Aug. 30. The provincial disaster management body warned that the Swat River may witness high to very high floods, news agency Dawn reported. Floods in Pakistan have affected more than 30 million people with Balochistan and Sindh provinces impacted adversely. The death toll due to the floods could reach 1,000 and millions, who have been impacted by the floods, are in need od economic aid. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 251 deaths due to the floods (since June). Amusement parks and restaurants were inundated due to floods, according to pictures released by Pakistan news media outlets. Meanwhile, former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan met people affected by the floods in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. Imran suggested that building small and medium sized dams across the country could reduce the impact of floods. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Sindh on Thursday and announced aid worth PKR15 billion for the flood affected. On Friday, 12 people died in flash floods in different parts of Swat. The river has swelled leading to floods which have washed away at least 24 bridges and 50 hotels. Several videos on social media showed people running for their lives as mosques, houses and buildings were washed in the floods. In Chatekal area of Gwalerai in Swat, seven people died after the roof of their house caved in due to heavy rain. The region's Emergency Operations Center warned that the river could swell to such an extent that it could 'result in a dangerous situation for communities living nearby'. Along with River Swat, the Indus River in Pakistan is also expected to swell and cause floods at Kalabagh and Chashma regions. The Pakistan meteorological body warned that the region could witness severe floods over the weekend as the river could attain 'high to very high flood levels'. The Pakistan government led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has deployed army personnel in all affected provinces. "The army personnel are being stationed to lend a hand to the civilian authorities in relief activities in the flood-ravaged areas," Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said in a tweet. As per the latest data compiled by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Sindh reported the highest number of deaths as 306 people lost their lives due to floods and rain-related incidents from June 14 to date. Balochistan reported 234 deaths whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab recorded 185 and 165 deaths, respectively. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 37 people were killed while nine deaths were reported in the Gilgit-Baltistan region during the current monsoon rains. In the same period Islamabad reported one death. According to the NDMA, Pakistan received 166.8mm of rain in August, as opposed to the average of 48mm — an increase of 241 percent. Sindh and Balochistan — the worst-hit regions — witnessed a 784 percent and 496 percent increase in the monsoon deluge, respectively, it added. Consequently, the abnormal increase in rainfall generated flash floods across the country, particularly in the southern part of Pakistan, which remains inundated at the moment with 23 districts of Sindh being declared "calamity-hit". Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said a "war room" has been established by the prime minister at NDMA, which would spearhead relief operations across the country. She admitted that the incessant "monstrous" rainfall had "made it hard to carry out relief operations, especially helicopter sorties". "Pakistan is going through its 8th cycle of monsoon; normally the country has only three to four cycles of [monsoon] rain," the minister said during a press conference in Islamabad. "Pakistan is under an unprecedented monsoon spell and data suggests the possibility of re-emergence of another cycle in September." Senator Rehman, who compared the current situation with the devastating 2010 floods earlier this week, said the current situation was worse than that. "The water is not only flowing from the north as in 2010, but it is equally or more devastating in its sweep and destructive power," she added. Stressing the need for relief from international donors, the minister said that the need for shelter and relief was dire as per what the provinces had conveyed. "It is still an evolving situation and every day the needs assessments were changing as the rains did not stop and the water kept coming," she said, adding that the number of homeless was growing. Meanwhile, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb evoked the "national spirit" and urged the nation, including overseas Pakistan, to come forward and help their compatriots at this critical juncture. "The entire nation, especially the overseas Pakistanis, should donate generously to help the flood victims as a huge amount of money would be required for their rehabilitation in the wake of large-scale disaster, she said in a statement. — Agencies
