ASIA/PAKISTAN – Floods and monsoon rains continue to strike the country causing major damage to people and structures

Islamabad (Agenzia Fides) – Heavy flooding for several weeks in Pakistan has left thousands homeless and many dead. The weather is particularly bad in the northern mountainous regions where many villages are still isolated. In the regions of Jitral and Gilgit-Baltistán bridges and roads have been destroyed . Flooding is also reported along the River Indo which flows through Pakistan from the Himalayas into the Arabian Sea. At least 200,000 people living along the river banks have been evacuated. According to official sources flood warnings still remain in five districts. At present some 600,000 people and 812 villages are literally underwater. The news comes from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). NDMA has forecast for the next 24 hours storms, rain and moderate rainfall in the basins of the great rivers which flow through four provinces. Every year, monsoon rains cause serious damage to people and structures in this south Asian country. The worst floods in Pakistan recorded in 2010, caused by exceptional monsoon conditions added to a particularly abundant summer thaw left 2,000 dead and more than 20 million persons affected. (AP) (3/8/2015 Agenzia Fides)