At least 26 more dead from severe flooding in Pakistan in the last 24 hours

Monsoon rains have killed 1,290 people since June 14

At least 26 people have died and eleven have been injured in the last 24 hours due to severe floods affecting Pakistan, bringing the death toll during the monsoon season to 1,290, according to the latest toll released Sunday by Pakistan’s National Flood Response Coordination Center.

In addition, a total of 80 districts have been declared a disaster area due to floods, including 31 in Balochistan, 23 in Sindh, 17 in Jibber Pakhtunkhwa, six in Gilgit-Baltistan and three in Punjab.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Office has reported that rains will continue in the northern regions of the country for the next three to four days, Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’ reports. In Sindh, Balochistan and southern Punjab, hot and humid weather will prevail.

The flow has risen so much that this Sunday the emergency opening of the Manchar dam on the Indus River, the largest in the country, has been announced as a precautionary measure and to avoid a possible rupture.

On Friday authorities reported more than 1,200 deaths due to heavy rains that have cost more than $10 billion to the country’s economy.

The storm has affected 33 million people and caused damage to more than one million homes. Recovery in the affected areas is expected to be slow due to the problems to dislodge the water.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has already warned of the serious risk posed by water-related infectious diseases such as cholera and typhoid fevers.

Earlier Sunday, Pakistani Health Minister Azra Pechuho reported 134,000 cases of diarrhea and 44,000 cases of malaria in Sindh province. She also indicated that there are 47,000 pregnant women in camps for displaced persons in the province, according to Geo TV.

In view of this situation, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has delivered on Sunday 32 tons of medical supplies and other emergency materials to help children and women affected by the “devastating” floods in Pakistan.

The shipment has arrived in Karachi from UNICEF’s Supply Division in Copenhagen and includes medicines, medical supplies, water purification tablets, safe delivery kits and therapeutic nutritional supplements. UNICEF has delivered these supplies to the Government of Pakistan, represented by the Ministry of Health and Population Welfare of Sindh Province and “will be delivered immediately to the children and families most in need in some of the 72 worst affected districts”.

“The floods have left children and families out in the open unable to meet their basic needs,” explained Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. “This shipment is essential and will save lives, but it is just a drop in the ocean of what is required,” he said.

“The risk of an outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dengue and malaria continues to increase every day as people are forced to drink contaminated water and practice open defecation. The dangers of mosquitoes, snake bites, skin and respiratory diseases are also increasing. We need urgent support to help children struggling to survive,” he said.

A second shipment of 34 tons of humanitarian supplies is expected to arrive Tuesday with medicines to treat parasitic infections, resuscitation and sterilization kits, micronutrients for pregnant women, educational materials and recreational kits to help children cope with trauma.