QUETTA – Monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people and destroyedthousands of houses in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Balochistan Chief SecretaryAbdul Azai Aqili said as many as 111 people have lost their lives so far asheavy downpour continues to hit the province.
The chief secretary said that rains completely tore down 6,077 houses andmore than 10,000 homes were partially damaged, according to officialstatistics.
Aqili said that 16 dams sustained minor or major damages during the rains,while crops and gardens stretching over two acres of land were also harmed.
“The recent monsoon spell brought more than 500% [as compared to earlier]rain and also severely damaged 2,400 solar panels,” the chief secretarysaid.
He noted that 10 districts in Balochistan were affected due to the rains,but fortunately, the situation at the Kech river was under control. Theprovince’s top official also mentioned that 650km of roads were damaged inthe rains.
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The route from Karachi to Quetta has been closed for heavy traffic, hesaid, urging people to refrain from unnecessary travel — as it was in theirbest interest.
The chief secretary said that the Pakistan Army, Frontier Constabulary, andcivil administration were conducting rescue operations, but damaged roadsare hampering the efforts.
In a related development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a committeeof federal ministers to assess damages around the country as the death tollfrom more than six weeks of monsoon rains and flash flooding acrossPakistan has crossed 350.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Thursday rainshad claimed at least 357 lives and injured 408 people since mid-June, withthe most casualties, 106, taking place in the impoverished southwesternBalochistan province.
