Death toll from Pakistan's monsoon rains, floods reaches 478

ISLAMABAD, Aug. 2: The death toll from the monsoon rains and flash flooding across Pakistan has reached 478 in the past seven weeks, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Tuesday.

Rain-related incidents have also injured 536 people and left thousands of families displaced as a heavy monsoon spell has continued to batter the country since June 14, the NDMA statistics showed.

Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province remained one of the most hard-hit areas, where 136 people were killed, 13,535 houses were partially or fully damaged, and over 13,000 livestock perished.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives caused by the torrential rains and flooding in Balochistan, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said Monday that federal and provincial institutions are engaged in relief efforts in the province.

"The devastations of the flooding in Balochistan are indescribable. The government is working day and night to help those affected," the prime minister said, adding that rations are being provided to the victims rescued from the flood-affected areas.