KARACHI: Rampant water-borne diseases in flood-hit regions have killed at least 324 people so far, authorities said on Wednesday, fearing the situation may get out of control if adequate aid does not arrive in time.
Hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the floods are living in the open, and the stagnant floodwaters spread over hundreds of kilometers may take two to six months to recede, according to a report in Reuters.
The displaced families are also exposed to other hazards, such as snake and dog bites.
They have an urgent need for food supplies, housing, medical care, and medications, all of which, according to many, have not been getting to them. Families who have been uprooted have also complained about having to use contaminated water for cooking and drinking.
“The aid is slow to arrive,” said Dr Farah Naureen, Mercy Corps’ country director for Pakistan after visiting several submerged regions.
In a statement late on Monday, Dr Farah Naureen stressed the need of providing clean drinking water and stated that “we need to act in a coordinated manner to respond to their immediate needs.”
“The most crucial demands of the displaced population are health and nutrition.”
Meanwhile, the southern Sindh provincial government on Wednesday said makeshift health facilities and mobile camps in the flooded areas had treated more than 78,000 patients in the last 24 hours, and more than 2 million since July 1.
Moreover, with three more deaths in flood-related accidents in Balochistan during the last 24 hours, the overall death toll reached 304 in the province.
The number of people who have been killed in the province in rain and flood-related accidents since June 1 this year has reached 304, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Balochistan.
The recent fatalities include a man, a woman, and a child, according to the PDMA report.
Deaths from diseases aren’t among the 1,569 people who were killed in flash floods, including 555 children and 320 women, the country’s disaster management agency said on Wednesday.
