Death toll from Pakistan floods jumps to 1,355

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – The death toll from devastating floods across Pakistan has jumped to 1,355, with 12 fresh casualties reported in the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Wednesday.

Of the fresh fatalities, six were reported from Sindh, whereas three people lost their lives in flood-related mishaps in Balochistan and two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) stated.

Monsoon season in Pakistan, like in other countries in the region, usually results in heavy rains, but this year has been the wettest since 1961.

Currently, one-third of the country is under water as the massive rains and melting glaciers have caused the country’s main Indus River to overflow, inundating vast swathes of plains, and farms.

Destructive rains and floods have also washed away hundreds of thousands of houses, bridges, roads and buildings across the South Asian nuclear country.

Over 33 million of the country’s approximately 220 million population have been affected by the raging floods, causing a staggering loss of $10 billion.

Almost 45% of the country’s cropland has been inundated by the floods, posing a serious threat to food security and adding to the already skyrocketing inflation.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are also dealing with outbreaks of waterborne, skin and eye diseases, with health experts warning of a number of deaths from diarrhea, typhoid, and malaria.