09 March 2005	Wednesday	27 Muharram 1426

QUETTA, March 8: Heavy rains continue to play havoc in Quetta and other parts of the province and 118 people have been reported dead during the last one month while several thousand houses have been damaged.

Scores of people lost their lives in incidents of houses collapsing due to rain. Thirty-nine people died in Kech area of Makran district when a passenger bus was swept away by flash flood that hit the area after the Shadi Kor Dam was damaged last month and water gushed out with force.

The officer in charge of the relief operation of the Frontier Corps, Col Azhar Iftikhar, told newsmen during news briefing at the FC headquarters on Tuesday that during the first spell of rain and snowfall 93 people were reported dead and 26 wounded in 13 districts of Balochistan, whereas in the second spell 25 people died and 31 were injured.

He said that around 7,000 houses were completely destroyed or damaged in the rains and floods. Livestock losses were also reported from various areas as over 4,000 cattle heads perished.

He said that 75,898 people were badly affected by rains, snowfall and floods in Balochistan. Col Iftikhar said that the FC had provided relief to over 75,000 people in the province during the last one month while the relief operation had not been stopped.