KARACHI: Even though most of Punjab was insulated from flood damages, the southern parts of the province were battered with mounting losses to life and infrastructure, data by Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) shows.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said the rescue operation in flood hit areas of south Punjab has been completed and steps were now being taken to rehabilitate those affected.

According to a statement by PDMA Director General Faisal Fareed, 75,719 people were rescued to safer locations. Out of 184 relief camps that were set up, 45 are still operational.

Talking about the distribution of relief goods, the statement added that ration bags have been distributed among 139,043 households, while 19,225 plastic mats, 21,254 mosquito nets and 65,576 cans of clean drinking water were also distributed.

187 dead, 468,803 affected since June 15; huge losses to crops reported in Punjab’s southern areas

District-wise damages

The PDMA’s district-wise data of damages showed that since June 15, 187 people have died in the province while 468,803 people were affected by torrential rainfall and extreme flooding. The two of the worst-hit districts were Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan, which saw the most deaths and infrastructure damages. Overall, 436,253 people were affected in the two areas, according to the data, which was last updated on August 29.

Read: How current calamity compares to 2010 floods

From June 15 to Aug 29, around 38pc of the province’s death toll was reported from these districts. Out of 46,320 houses that were either damaged or destroyed, 43,268, or 93.4pc were in the two districts. Rajanpur was the worst hit in terms of livestock losses with 200,667. The total number in 34 other districts was 4,437.

In terms of deaths, Dera Ghazi Khan is the worst-hit district with 49 casualties. As many as 17,954 houses have been either damaged or destroyed.

The livestock losses in DG Khan stood at 4,101.

District Rajanpur recorded the second-highest number of deaths with 22, while 1,366 people were injured. However, in terms of infrastructure and livestock damages, it has the most catastrophic numbers — 25,314 houses damaged or destroyed, 200,667 livestock deaths and 88km roads washed away. In total, as many as 223,415 people were affected in the districts, 11pc of the total population of 1,995,958.

With input from Amjad Mahmood

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2022