Monsoon rain and flooding kill 140 in a week in Pakistan

Rescue workers help villagers to evacuate them from flooded area caused by heavy rains, in Lasbella, a district in Pakistan’s southwest Baluchistan province, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. Officials say on Wednesday, rescuers backed by troops are using boats and helicopters to evacuate hundreds of marooned people from Pakistan’s southwest, where floods triggered by rains have killed 104 people since last month. (AP Photo/Hamdan Khan)

Flash floods triggered by monsoon rain have killed 140 more people in Pakistan’s flood-affected areas over the past week, officials said.

The fatalities raised the overall death toll from rain-related incidents since June to 478 in Pakistan.

Rescue workers backed by the military have evacuated thousands of marooned people, including women and children, from south-western Baluchistan province, in the north west and elsewhere since last week, when the government deployed helicopters to expand relief and rescue operations.

Rescue workers help villagers out of a flooded area (Hamdan Khan/AP)

Deluges have destroyed or damaged nearly 37,000 homes in the flood-hit areas since June 14, according to a report released by the National Disaster and Management Authority.

Authorities are delivering food and other necessary items to flood victims across the country.

On Monday, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited flood-affected areas in Baluchistan, and promised financial support to those who have lost their homes in the floods.

More rain is expected this week in Pakistan, where the monsoon season runs from July to September.

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