Monsoon floods kill more than 100 in Pakistan

Aug 5, 2008, 11:42 GMT

Islamabad - Monsoon rains and deluges wreaked havoc throughout Pakistan, killing more than 100 people overnight and causing widespread destruction, media reports said Tuesday.

The majority of the casualties were reported from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and its adjoining tribal areas, located near the Afghan border, where flash floods swept away hundreds of mud houses.

According to the Urdu-language Express newspaper, 25 people drowned when three rescue boats capsized Monday near the province's capital, Peshawar.

Up to 50 people died, mostly in roof collapses, in Peshawar and the Khyber tribal district. Several hundred houses were destroyed by raging floodwaters

Scores of people were marooned by floods and had to be rescued by military helicopters, but the number of flights were kept low because of the limited availability of aircraft.

Authorities said the scale of the damage was high because there was no effective warning mechanism and encroachments had been made along waterways.

Provincial emergency services distributed relief items, including tents and blankets, to dozens of people left homeless by the floods while asking the National Disaster Management Authority to send in more relief supplies.

In the Rajanpur district in the eastern province of Punjab, at least 12 people were killed in flash floods that also destroyed crops, the Daily Times newspaper said.

Most parts of Pakistan are seeing torrential rains which, the Meteorological Department said, are likely to continue for a few days.