Officers Pakistan It warned that more flooding was expected as Lake Manchar in the country’s south swelled as a result of unprecedented monsoon rains that killed nearly 1,300 people.
Meteorologists have predicted more rain in the region in the coming days, and authorities have called for the evacuation of villagers in Sindh’s Jamshoro and Dadu districts. They said the rising waters have reached dangerous levels and pose a threat to the protective dyke and dam. Located west of the Indus River, the lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in Pakistan and one of the largest lakes in Asia.
Jamshoro district administrator Fariduddin Mustafa said on Sunday that officials made cuts on the shore of the lake to allow excess water to drain out and eventually flow into the Indus River, but the water continued to rise.
Mustafa said, “After assessing that the water level has reached a dangerous level … and fearing that the dam of the lake may collapse at any moment, the administration has decided to make a cut on the side of Bagh-e-Yousuf to warn of the uncontrollable flow of water.”
The incident comes a day after Pakistan again appealed to the international community for help for flood victims that have left millions homeless across the country. Airplanes from many countries are bringing supplies to the country through a humanitarian airlift.
Many officials and experts have blamed the unusual monsoon rains and floods on climate change, including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who last week urged the world to stop “sleepwalking” on the deadly crisis. He will visit Pakistan on September 9 to tour flood-affected areas and meet with officials.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority in its latest report raised the death toll to 1,290 since mid-June, when monsoon rains began earlier this year, as more people died in flood-hit areas of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
The authority said relief and rescue operations continued on Sunday, using helicopters and boats to transport troops and volunteers from flooded areas to aid camps where shelter, food and health care were being provided.
Relief camps have been set up in government buildings serving tens of thousands of people, and thousands more have taken shelter on roadsides on higher ground.
Initial government estimates put the devastation at $10 billion (£8.6 billion) in damage, but Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday that “the scale of the devastation is enormous and massive humanitarian aid is required for 33 million people”.
The renewed request for international aid came as Pakistan received 30 aircraft with aid goods from Turkey, China, UAE, France, Uzbekistan and other countries, and more aircraft are expected to arrive in the coming days.
Two members of the US Congress, Sheila Jackson and Tom Suozzi, were expected to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to visit flood-affected areas and meet with officials.
