Pakistan’s southern Sindh province evacuates 100,000 people over flooding threat

Villagers wade through a flooded area following heavy rains and raising water in rivers, in Muzaffargarh, Pakistan (Asim Tanveer/AP)

Authorities in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province have evacuated more than 100,000 people from low-lying areas along the Indus river, a government spokesman said on Friday, after neighbouring India warned of cross-border flooding from dam release.

The evacuations come as rescuers mounted a major rescue and relief operation in the country’s eastern Punjab province, where flooding from weeks of monsoon rains and overflowing dams in India has displaced about 1.8 million people since August.