DG.KHAN: At least 55 people died and dozens were injured within 24hours as torrential rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Pakistan over the past three days, a government spokesman said Monday.

Heavy monsoon rains which began falling last week destroyed more than 1,600 houses while damaging a further 5,000, Irshad Bhatti, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) told AFP.

Overall 80 people have been died since last three days. “A total of 90 people have died and 68 injured in rains and flash floods in the country so far,” he said, adding that the casualties were caused mostly by houses collapsing, electrocute and people being caught in floods.

The worst-hit region was Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province where 32 people have died and 26 were injured in several districts, he said, adding that 83 houses were totally destroyed and another 4,200 were partially damaged, he said.

In the northwestern district of Swabi eight Afghan refugees were killed when the roof of their mud house collapsed overnight, police official Mohammad Ali said.

The dead, who were members of the same family, included two women and six children aged between one and 12 years he said. In Kashmir, flash floods killed at least 31 people, Bhatti said. Rains killed at least 26 people in that region last month.

Food Scarcity

Severe rains have also caused food scarcity and blocked the land routes in various areas.
Clean drinking water was already scarce in the area but the recent rains and flash floods have also created shortage of medicines in the hospitals.

However, on the call of CM Sindh Qaim Ali Shah army have been reached the area for rescue operation.

On the other hand, The railway system has also been halted in the effected areas.