Islamabad: Over 123 people have been killed and more than 462 injured in Pakistan’s Punjab province since late June as record torrential monsoon rains inundated residential areas, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of the country said on Saturday.
As many as 10 people died across Punjab in the last 48 hours, and reportedly more than half of the deaths were due to rain-triggered incidents in the province.
The Pakistani authorities warned of a fresh monsoon spell from July 20 to 25 in several regions of the country, accompanied by heavy rainfall, gusty winds, dust storms, and potential flash floods.
As emergency services continue to pull bodies from the rubble and rescue citizens trapped in rising waters in Punjab, several districts remain at risk of facing stormy weather. While the fourth monsoon spell approaches with full force, authorities are rushing to prepare for the impending flood, Pakistan’s leading newspaper ‘The Express Tribune’ reported.
The PDMA reported that districts including Rawalpindi, Murree, Galyat, Attock, Chakwal, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Gujrat, Jhelum, and Gujranwala are expected to receive heavy rainfall along with gusty winds.
The forecast predicts rainfall in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Sargodha, and Mianwali. Additionally, in South Punjab, the rainfall is likely to hit Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, and Bahawalnagar from July 18 to 23.
Meanwhile, five major wholesale markets in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, including Raja Bazaar, Moti Bazaar, Sabzi Mandi, Bohar Bazaar, and Trunk Bazaar, have suffered huge losses due to torrential rains and subsequent flooding.
More than 100 shops in Moti Bazar, Rawalpindi, were submerged in flooding, destroying expensive garments, fabrics, artificial jewelry, and cosmetics, reducing once prosperous shopkeepers to complete ruin.
Similarly, in another market area in the city, floods destroyed numerous wholesale medicine stores, rendering valuable medical supplies unusable, The Express Tribune reported.
Reports suggest that no single government official or elected representative visited the affected regions, while the flood relief camps received no facilities, with neither food nor assistance.
In the absence of government support, residents avoided taking shelter in any flood camps. The district administration reportedly did not provide food to any family or household.
(IANS)
