Pakistan monsoon flooding death toll tops 1,000

Pakistan monsoon flooding death toll tops 1,000

A bridge was washed away and the road destroyed in Swat by record monsoon rains in Pakistan
A bridge was washed away and the road destroyed in Swat by record monsoon rains in Pakistan. Photo: Abdul MAJEED / AFP
Source: AFP

The death toll from monsoon flooding in Pakistan since June has reached 1,033, according to figures released Sunday by the country's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

It said 119 people had died in the previous 24 hours as heavy rains continued to lash parts of the country.

The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but each year it also brings a wave of destruction.

Officials say this year's monsoon flooding has affected more than 33 million people -- one in seven Pakistanis -- destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.

The NDMA said more than two million acres of cultivated crops have been wiped out, 3,451 kilometres (2,150 miles) of roads destroyed, and 149 bridges washed away.

Source: AFP

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