Over 260 people were killed and around two million people were affected as heavy monsoon rains triggered floods in eastern Punjab province, northern Gilgit Baltistan and Pakistan administered Kashmir, said officials on Thursday.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) officials told reporters that at least 184 people have died as a result of heavy rains in Punjab; 11 have died in Gilgit Baltistan whereas the death toll in Pakistan side of Kashmir has risen to 64. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has announced a flood alert in Punjab and southern Sindh provinces adding that a huge amount of floodwater has entered eastern Multan city on Thursday.
The Punjab Cabinet Committee constituted for flood relief in a press conference said that the provincial government would provide USD 200 to each family displaced by floods. Committee member Zaeem Qadri said that 140,000 people have been shifted to safer areas out of the estimated 1.8 million affected by the catastrophe in Punjab.
Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has directed missions abroad to open accounts for collections of funds for flood-affected people.