Pakistan monsoon rains affect five million, kill 132

Karachi (AFP)
Sept 5, 2011

Monsoon rains in Pakistan have affected up to five million people and killed 132 others in a month, a senior disaster official said Monday, as the country braced for more wet and wild weather.

Southern Sindh, a flood-prone province where authorities said more heavy rain was expected in the coming days, was the hardest-hit area, with crops and many houses destroyed.

"The floods triggered by heavy rains have killed 132 people and affected four to five million people," doctor Zafar Qadir, the country head of the National Disaster Management Authority, told a press conference in Islamabad.

Qadir said most of those killed died as a result of falling roofs, drowning and water-borne diseases.

An unknown number of women and children are among the victims.

"The magnitude of the calamity is worse than our expectations. We are facing difficulties with every passing time," Qadir said.

"A total of 690,000 houses were damaged, in which 250,000 were completely destroyed," Qadir said, adding floods also killed an estimated 100,000 cattle.

Last year, the worst floods in Pakistan's history affected 21 million people and killed an estimated 1,750, with the south again taking the brunt of mother nature.

Charities have accused Pakistan of since failing to invest in flood prevention measures.

Sajjad Haider Shah, an official at the disaster management authority in Sindh, earlier told AFP that 2.2 million people have been affected and 300,000 displaced there.

"We are providing tents and food to the people and our supplies are getting better everyday," said Shah.

The meteorological office has forecast more rain this week.

Source: Terra Daily.
Link: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Pakistan_monsoon_rains_affect_five_million_kill_132_999.html.