Pakistan flooding death toll reaches 1,033

ISLAMABAD, Aug.28, (ST)-The death toll from the monsoon flooding in Pakistan since June has reached 1,033, according to figures released Sunday by the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

It said 119 people had died in the previous 24 hours as heavy rains continued to lash parts of the country.

The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but each year it also brings a wave of destruction.

Officials say this year’s monsoon flooding has affected more than 33 million people — one in seven Pakistanis — destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.

The NDMA said more than two million acres of cultivated crops have been wiped out, 3,451 kilometres (2,150 miles) of roads destroyed, and 149 bridges washed away.

The source concluded: “Syria extends its deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims and the Pakistani government, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.”

At the beginning of this month, Syria expressed its condolences and sympathy to Pakistan over the victims of floods and torrential rains in different cities of the country.

Over the past months, Pakistan has witnessed floods caused by torrential rains that swept across large areas of the country, killing hundreds of people and causing great material damage.

Source: Agencies