By Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD
The death toll from torrential rain and flash floods in the last three days jumped to 115 in northeastern Pakistan and in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, officials said Saturday.
Lahore, the state capital and the country's second largest city, has been the worst-hit where around 36 people have been killed in last three days due to flash floods. Nine more people, including a father and daughter were killed Saturday in different parts of Lahore in flood-related incidents.
Heavy rains and flash floods struck three more districts of the Punjab -- Hafizabad, Gujarat and Mandi Bahauddin -- stranding hundreds of people in various suburbs, and widespread destruction to standing crops, livestock, and both public and government properties.
Around 24 people have been killed in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, known as "Azad Kashmir" -- where swelling rivers and streams amid the heavy rains have submerged large swaths of land, and caused mud-sliding in various parts of the region. Most of the casualties in the Punjab and in Azad Kashmir were due to incidents of roofs collapsing as scores of mud and wood houses could not bear the pressure from the heavy rains.
The National Disaster Management Authority, which is responsible for the coordination between various rescue and relief agencies, said all the government agencies including the army, have been put on high alert as all rivers in the northeastern Punjab province are subjected to "exceptionally" high floods.
Inter Services Public Relations -- the media wing of the Pakistan army -- said hundreds of people have been rescued from the flood-hit areas of the Punjab’s five districts through helicopters, while operations are underway to rescue hundreds more trapped in the waters.
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