Peshawar/Islamabad:
Pakistan has said that the death toll in the devastating floods across the country could be as high as 1,500 as rescue workers and 30,000 troops fanned out to areas that continued to be inaccessible due to widespread damage to roads and infrastructure.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which has been hit hardest by flash floods triggered by monsoon rains, put the number of dead at over 800.
However, authorities involved in relief operations said the number of those killed in the province over the past five days might have crossed 1,500.
About 50 people were killed in Punjab, 19 in Balochistan, over 30 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and six in the Northern Areas.
The UN has said the floods have affected over one million people.
The Neelum Valley in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) remained cut-off today. Limited resources and the complete destruction of communications networks and roads were hampering rescue and relief efforts, the authorities said.
About 30,000 troops have been deployed for the relief effort across the country.
"We have few helicopters, most of them provided by the army, to carry out rescue and rehabilitation activities and there are a number of areas which remain unattended. Tens of thousands of people are stranded and waiting for help," a senior official, who preferred not to be named, said.
There were fears that a new monsoon system forecast for the next 24 hours could cause further floods in other areas.
Two army contingents were sent to Khairpur and Ghotki districts of Sindh, where authorities said expected rains might cause flooding in the Indus river.
The Grand Trunk road, the main north-south motorway, was partially reopened today after being closed for three days.
The closure of the road had cut off Peshawar.
Following an aerial survey of affected areas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority described the destruction as "massive". He said entire villages and grain storages had been washed away.
The military said 28,000 people in the worst-hit areas had been rescued though thousands more remained stranded.
Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani rescued 17 elderly and sick people in his helicopter while visiting flood-hit areas in Nowshera, Swat and Malakand division.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which has been hit hardest by flash floods triggered by monsoon rains, put the number of dead at over 800.
However, authorities involved in relief operations said the number of those killed in the province over the past five days might have crossed 1,500.
About 50 people were killed in Punjab, 19 in Balochistan, over 30 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and six in the Northern Areas.
The UN has said the floods have affected over one million people.
The Neelum Valley in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) remained cut-off today. Limited resources and the complete destruction of communications networks and roads were hampering rescue and relief efforts, the authorities said.
About 30,000 troops have been deployed for the relief effort across the country.
"We have few helicopters, most of them provided by the army, to carry out rescue and rehabilitation activities and there are a number of areas which remain unattended. Tens of thousands of people are stranded and waiting for help," a senior official, who preferred not to be named, said.
There were fears that a new monsoon system forecast for the next 24 hours could cause further floods in other areas.
Two army contingents were sent to Khairpur and Ghotki districts of Sindh, where authorities said expected rains might cause flooding in the Indus river.
The Grand Trunk road, the main north-south motorway, was partially reopened today after being closed for three days.
The closure of the road had cut off Peshawar.
Following an aerial survey of affected areas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a spokesman for the Provincial Disaster Management Authority described the destruction as "massive". He said entire villages and grain storages had been washed away.
The military said 28,000 people in the worst-hit areas had been rescued though thousands more remained stranded.
Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani rescued 17 elderly and sick people in his helicopter while visiting flood-hit areas in Nowshera, Swat and Malakand division.
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