Pakistan faces more deluges, deaths after crossing grim mark
Pakistan braced for a fresh deluge from swollen rivers in the north and deaths from waterborne diseases as the human toll from this year's monsoon topped 1,000 on Sunday.
The mighty Indus River that courses through Pakistan's second-most populous region is fed by dozens of mountain tributaries to the north, but many have burst their banks following record rains and glacier melt.
Officials warned torrents of water are expected to reach the southern city of Sindh in the next few days, adding misery to millions already affected by the floods.
"Right now, Indus is in high flood," said Aziz Soomro, the supervisor of a barrage that regulates the river's flow near Sukkur.
The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but it also brings 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.
On Sunday, the country's National Disaster Management Authority said the death toll from the monsoon rains had reached 1,033, with 119 killed in the previous 24 hours.
It said this year's floods are comparable to 2010 – the worst on record – when over 2,000 people died and nearly a fifth of the country was under water. Read More...
