Flood affects over 100,000 people in Pakistan

Over 200 villages were submerged and hundreds of acres of crop land were destroyed due to high floods in River Tawi, Nalluh Dek and Basantar on Saturday. According to government officials, over 98 people have died in flood-related accidents this month, mainly in urban areas, while more than 100, 000 persons have been affected. The Indus and Chenab Rivers were in high flood from Friday affecting the population in eastern province of Punjab as heavy rains lashed the province. Many villages were cut down from the cities as road links and the gushing water in Sialkot and Rajanpur washed bridges away and over two dozen villages were submerges by floodwater. Officials have confirmed the death of two children in Bhaiya village and authorities have issued flood warning for more than 150 villages adjacent to Chiniot near River Chenab. According to the Flood Forecast Division (FFD), the River Indus at Chashma and River Chenab at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad are in high floods. The River Indus at Guddu is forecasted to be in high flood on August 20 and 21 as 600, 000 to 650,000 cusecs water is likely to pass through this area, while there might be high flood at Sukkur on August 21 and 22. The next spell of rainfall could lead the floods towards a serious situation, as all the reservoirs of Pakistan are filled to their capacity. According to Chairman Federal Flood Commission, Asjad Imtiaz, "Even land has no capacity to absorb water anymore due to recent strong spells of rain." He further informed, "We still have time to prepare for the upcoming danger as the next spell is predicted for Aug 27-28." The National Disaster Management Association (NDMA) estimated that around USD 3 billion loss was suffered by Pakistan in last three years due to floods and require USD 0.16 billion to meet the losses of the current floods.