Five people dead as rescue boat overturns in Pakistan floods

"Flooding from the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers has affected more than 4,100 villages, forcing over two million people to flee their homes, according to figures shared on Saturday by Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed. Authorities have set up 423 relief camps, 512 medical facilities and 432 veterinary posts to protect both people and livestock after more than 1.5 million animals were relocated."

"Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Multan, said entire villages in the region have been abandoned due to the floods. People have left their belongings and are trying to save their lives, he said. Most people have no protection. Tens of thousands of acres of land with standing crops are lost. Mango orchards are all submerged. Hyder said that by September, the monsoon season would typically have ended but the Meteorological Department was predicting a 10th monsoon spell to arrive soon."

Severe monsoon floods in southern Punjab have inundated thousands of villages and forced over two million people to flee their homes. Flooding from the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers affected more than 4,100 villages. Authorities set up hundreds of relief camps, medical facilities and veterinary posts after relocating over 1.5 million animals. A boat carrying evacuees capsized in Multan district because of strong currents, leaving at least five dead and more than a dozen rescued. Nearly 900 people have died in monsoon floods nationwide since June. Large areas of standing crops and mango orchards are submerged, threatening agriculture in Pakistan's key wheat-producing province.

Read at www.aljazeera.com