MIDDLE EAST
3 MIN READ
Fresh displacement triggered by flooding in southern Pakistan
With floodwaters engulfing the Dadu district of Pakistan's southern Sindh province, residents are left with only one passage to leave the city.
Fresh displacement triggered by flooding in southern Pakistan
Over 33 million people of the country's 220 million population have been displaced by the latest downpours and flooding. / AP

Thousands of panicked citizens have left a densely-populated district in southern Pakistan following a fresh spell of floods, adding to the growing number of displaced people.

Gushing floodwaters have washed away the first defence line of the Dadu district of southern Sindh province – home to over 1 million people – officials and local media reported on Sunday.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah told reporters that the rescue agencies are trying their best to save the city.

The floodwaters left only one passage for the residents to leave the city as the water level in Manchar Lake, the country's largest freshwater body, is continuously rising.

Footage aired on local TV channels showed thousands of stranded people lodged in tents or under open skies along the main highway that leads to Hyderabad, the second largest district of Sindh after Karachi.

Either side of the highway could be seen inundated in floodwaters for miles.

Another footage showed hundreds of flapped citizens, on mini trucks, wagons, and auto rickshaws, leaving the city. Many others along with their livestock were also spotted trudging along the road under the baking sun.

READ MORE:Millions in flood-hit Pakistan await aid as health crisis unfolds

Over 33 million displaced

The recent downpours – 500 percent higher than average – and massive floods have left 125 million people homeless in Sindh alone, aside from causing a colossal loss of $1.5 billion (Rs350 billion) to agriculture and another $221 million (Rs50 billion) to the livestock.

The severity of the situation also prompted the country's Army Chief Generl Qamar Javed Bajwa to air dash to the literally besieged Dadu city on Saturday evening, directing the troops to accelerate the relief and rescue operations.

Meteorologists heap the blame on climate change, and global warming, which have increased the ferocity, and frequency of the monsoon rains amid fast-melting glaciers.

The current monsoon season that struck the South Asian nuclear country in June, has inundated one-third of Pakistan apart from killing over 1,400 people, according to the country's National Disaster Management Authority.

Over 33 million people of the country's 220 million population have been displaced by the latest downpours and flooding in all four provinces since mid-June, in addition to causing a staggering $30 billion in damages to the already weakened infrastructures.

READ MORE: UN chief: Never seen climate carnage like Pakistan floods

SOURCE:AA
Explore
Syria opens first trial for Assad's cousin on drug trafficking charges
US air strike kills senior Daesh leader in northwestern Syria
Deadly Qatar gas plant blast kills 13, exports remain steady: minister
Massive explosion at Qatar industrial plant leaves dozens injured and missing
Israeli envoy Danny Danon embarrasses himself with 'personal attacks' on UN officials
'Sooner or later': Israeli minister threatens war with Syria, targets Türkiye
Trump suggests Syria could take on Hezbollah if Israel cannot avoid civilian casualties
Abbas sets election timeline, paving way for first Palestinian presidential vote since 2005
Syria to attend G7 summit as guest nation for first time since forum's inception
Poll shows support for Netanyahu's Likud at one-year low as rivals gain ground
Are Trump and Netanyahu drifting apart on the Middle East?
Syria arrests former Assad-era commander on war crimes charges
ICC fugitive Netanyahu says no deal in place with Lebanon as Israel kills 20 more people there
'Trump is capable' — Palestine urges US leader to block Israel from annexing West Bank lands
Israel shells areas in southern Syria, pushes into western Daraa — report
Israeli forces push deeper into Lebanon despite ceasefire
Israel reportedly rejects Lebanese demand to end southern Lebanon invasion in Pentagon talks
Habitual truce violator Israel targets Lebanon's heritage sites, shattering US-brokered ceasefire
Israel hit by over 15 Hezbollah drones as military struggles for response — report
Syria discovers stockpiles from former Assad regime's chemical weapons programme