Pakistan monsoon floods leave 100 dead, several other injured

Monsoon rains and flash floods have killed over 100 people and injured more than 300 others across Pakistan since the current monsoon season began in June, the country's disaster management authority said on Sunday.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said more than half of the deaths were caused by house or roof collapses. 

It said rescuers carried out 130 rescue operations over the last month, evacuating nearly 4,000 people and delivering 219 tons of relief supplies across the country.

In Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab and Pakistan’s second-largest city, authorities have set up at least 17 flood relief camps to house evacuated residents, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Heavy monsoon rains have battered several parts of Pakistan over the past week, triggering flash floods, landslides and widespread disruption. Pakistan’s disorganised urban planning, a result of rapid rural-to-urban migration, has led to sprawling slums that are particularly vulnerable to flooding.

An unnamed senior official at the Punjab Irrigation Department told Dawn on Saturday that the situation was “very alarming," with “a vast area of around 400sq km (154sq miles)” now under water across the Lahore and Gujranwala divisions of Punjab.

Pakistan’s disorganised urban planning, a result of rapid rural-to-urban migration, has led to sprawling slums that are particularly vulnerable to flooding.