Water from Pakistan’s largest lake threatens to spill into densely populated cities
Water levels at Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake remain dangerously high despite efforts to release water and spare nearby cities further flooding, according to officials.
It’s the latest challenge facing officials as the country grapples with an escalating disaster as heavy monsoon rains combine with melting glaciers to cover one third of the country in water.
The number of deaths since mid-June reached 1,325 as of Monday, with more than 12,000 injured, according to Pakistan’s National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC). And the death toll is expected to rise.
At least 33 million people have been affected by the flooding — around 15% of the country’s population — according to government officials and aid organizations.
Some areas — particularly the southern provinces of Sindh and Balochistan — have seen five times their normal levels of monsoonal rain.
On Sunday, officials attempted to release water from Lake Manchar, in Sindh province, into nearby districts of Jaffarabad and Bubak, home to around 100,000 people, according to Jamal Mangan, Pakistan’s Irrigation Special Secretary.
They had hoped to prevent the lake from overflowing and flooding more populated cities and towns across Sindh, including Sehwan, Dadu and Bhan Syedabad, Mangan said.
Several international aid agencies were beginning to arrive in flood-ravaged Pakistan on Monday, delivering much-needed food, clean water and medicines to victims of what the United Nations has called a “monsoon on steroids.”
Three million children are now in need of urgent humanitarian assistance across Pakistan due to the increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition, UNICEF warned in a statement Wednesday.
Agencies