166 killed as heavy rains lash parts of Pakistan

At least 166 people were killed, 128 injured and 1,087,025 others affected by heavy rains and flash floods in parts of Pakistan over last three weeks, officials from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Thursday.

Reema Zuberi, spokesperson of the NDMA, told Xinhua that the torrential rains that have been lashing the country since July 15, damaged 8,471 houses, inundated 2,976 villages and destroyed standing crops on 233,688 acres of land.

The country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was the worst-hit area where the gushing waters have killed at least 79 people, injured another 70 and destroyed 3,320 houses.

Chitral district of the province was badly affected where the heavy rains washed away bridges, roads, houses and cattle in various villages.

The floods have rendered thousands of people homeless, forcing them to stay under the open skies amid the surging water levels in rivers, drainages and other water resources.

Forty bridges and four roads linking the district to other parts of the province were thoroughly damaged, creating hindrance in the rescue and relief operation.

The flood water destroyed 11 irrigation channels and over 60 water supply schemes, cutting off the drinking water supply to the district.

In the country's east Punjab province, 42 people were killed, 12 others injured, 3,320 houses damaged, 496 villages affected and 233,688 acres of standing crops destroyed due to heavy downpour.

A total of 23 people were killed, five others injured and about 321 houses were destroyed when heavy rains wrecked havoc in Pakistan administered Kashmir, the NDMA said.

At least 13 people were killed, 33 injured and 798 houses destroyed when the heavy downpour hit the country's south Balochistan province, the authority added.

Up to 2,177 villages were inundated and 16,546 people were affected in the country's south Sindh province.

In north Gilgit Baltistan area, the heavy rains killed seven people, injured six and damaged 812 houses.

In the country's northwest tribal area, two people were killed and two others injured and 162 houses were damaged by the torrential rains.

Teams from NDMA, provincial governments and Pakistani army are carrying out rescue and relief operation in the affected areas.

The army, the NDMA and the provincial governments have collectively provided 71,755 tents, 4,170.93 tons of ration, 1,500 tarpaulins, 8,913 blankets and 124 tons of mineral water to the flood affectees in the country.

Governor and Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan visited parts of flood affected areas on Sunday, announcing 500-U.S. dollar aid for each family.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced a one-hundred-million U.S. dollar package for flood affectees of Sindh and a 5-million-U. S. dollar aid package for Chitral,

He also visited flood relief camps in Punjab and Sindh provinces and directed the concerned officials to speed up the rescue and relief work.

Monsoon rains hit Pakistan every year in June and the season normally ends in the first week of September. During this period, the country receives heavy rains which cause flooding in various areas.

The most destructive flood hit the country in 2010 that hit parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. The flood swept away 20 percent of the land, killed 1,540 people and injured 2,088. According to a UN report, 557,226 houses had been destroyed, and over 6 million people had been displaced in the flood.