Daily Times

The Sindh government on Tuesday declared 23 districts of the province calamity-hit due to the devastation caused by extraordinary monsoon rains followed by devastating floods.

Provincial Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said at least 239 people have been killed and over 700 have been injured across the province.

He added that in the Hyderabad division, 31,684 houses were partially destroyed, 25,812 were completely destroyed and 830 cattle were also lost.

Meanwhile, in Shaheed Benazirabad division, 54,962 houses were partially destroyed, 23,000 were completely destroyed and 696 cattle were lost.

Furthermore, four deaths have also been reported on Tuesday in the Hyderabad division due to rain. The unrelenting spell of the monsoon which started on August 17 has flooded large parts of Sindh, taking the lives of at least 34 people in several districts and injuring a larger number of people.

The Met Office predicted a three-day spell of rains starting Tuesday with heavy to moderate showers in several cities of the province. The Met Office said a “strong low-pressure area”, currently located over eastern India, was likely to approach Sindh on August 23 and under its impact, moderate and heavy rain-thunderstorms were expected in several parts of the province till August 25. During this period, heavy showers “may worsen the situation” in already submerged areas in Dadu, Naushahro Feroze, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Larkana, Jacobabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Ghotki, Shikarpur and Kashmore districts, it warned.

The weather system was also expected to cause light to moderate rain in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Tando Mohammad khan, Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad, Mitiari, Thatta, and Sujawal districts, the Met Office added.

It said the continuing wet spell over northeastern and southern districts of Balochistan would persist till August 22 and may trigger flash floods in Dadu, Jamshoro and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts, as well as downstream.