Disaster Management Body Chairman Says Over 6m Affected Persons Lost Over 0.2m Cattle.

LAHORE -- Chairman Ministerial Disaster Management Committee, Provincial Minister for Cooperatives, Environmental Protection and Parliamentary Affairs Muhammad Basharat Raja Thursday confirmed 188 deaths as a result of rains and flash floods in the entire province. 'As many as 3,256 people were injured while 25, 315 houses were damaged' he said while addressing a press conference here. Basharat Raja told reporters that districts of Rajanpur, DG Khan and Mianwali were the worst affected. He said that over 0.6 million people were affected by the flood waters while more than 0.2 million cattle also perished. He informed the media that Punjab received a total of 364 mm of rain this year which was 85 percent more than normal. 'Although pre-monsoon flood warnings and all necessary preparations were made by the concerned departments, however preparations did not prove to be effective against the unprecedented heavy rains', he said. He further stated that 184 relief camps were established in the affected areas while a total of 33,478 tents, 4,400 bags of flour, 68,637 food hampers, over 3,000 pots and thousands of water bottles had been distributed in three tehsils of Rajanpur, four tehsils of DG Khan and one tehsil of Mianwali. He said the Punjab government immediately released Rs. 100 million to Deputy Commissioner DG Khan, Rs 80 million to DC Rajanpur and Rs 65 million to Deputy Commissioner Mianwali for the relief operations. Any additional funds required will be provided, he stated. He said that overseas Pakistanis were leading in helping their brothers in their difficult times.

'During the telethon held a few...