ISLAMABAD, July 2: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to carry out an overall damage assessment exercise in flood-hit areas within four weeks to adequately compensate the affected people.

Chairing a top-level meeting, he ordered the NDMA to ensure swift relief, recovery and rehabilitation of the flood-affected people in Sindh and Balochistan.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, representatives of the Pakistan army and all relevant departments and agencies engaged in relief and rescue operations attended the meeting.

Chairman NDMA Lt-Gen (Retd) Mohammad Farooq said the damage assessment would be carried out by a team of foreign and local experts for preliminary estimation of losses caused to infrastructure and houses. He said the rehabilitation exercise will start after around three months.

The meeting decided to immediately start rehabilitation of the damaged road networks in the affected areas of the two provinces on a fast-track basis to ensure speedy supply of relief goods.

The meeting was informed that 21 helicopters of Pakistan Army, Air force and Navy were in action, and around 15,000 soldiers had been deployed in the devastated area.

It was also agreed that in view of the severed sections of the Coastal Highway, relief goods would be transported through sea. The first such relief ship was scheduled to arrive at Gwadar port on Monday night.

Giving the official death toll, he said so far 236 to 241 people had been killed in the floods. He said these included 100 in Sindh and 111 in Balochistan. He said between 35 and 40 people were killed in the NWFP. He said over two hundred people, including 29 fishermen from Sindh and 175 people from Balochistan were missing. He said the floods had affected some 2,40,00km of land in Balochistan and four districts in Sindh. He said 1.1 million people were affected while 100,000 people were reportedly displaced.

General Farooq said Wapda was directed to restore supply of electricity from Iran to Gwadar and adjoining areas in a couple of days.

Meanwhile, an ISPR spokesman said that Sindh’s Qubo Saeed Khan and Qambar talukas in Qambar-Shahdadkot district were severely affected due to flash floods. Army engineers were repairing the breach at Flood Protection Bund near Shahdadkot. Sixteen army helicopters were participating in relief and rescue operations in Balochistan’s Turbat and Sibbi districts and Jacobabad, Sindh. Two helicopters of Pakistan Navy have reached Gwadar and PNS Tariq was again being sent with relief items to Pasni and Ormara.