Shehbaz appeals for donations of blankets, baby food.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday urged people across the country to generously donate baby food and blankets for flood-affected people on an urgent basis.

Addressing a meeting to review rescue and relief operations in flood-hit areas, the premier appealed to the nation to donate quilts and warm clothes for those 'sleeping under the open skies' as winters were approaching.

'There are several non-governmental organisations with a good reputation, donate to them. Or, you can give these essentials to centres set up by the army and provincial authorities,' he said.

'The affected people are looking towards you. In these times of need, I urge all the well-to-do people to come forward and help,' PM Shehbaz stressed.

In its daily situation report on Saturday, the National Disaster Management Authority said the death toll from floods has risen by 37 during the last 24 hours. The cumulative death toll since June 14 now stood at 1,545, the report added.

It showed that 92 individuals had sustained injuries due to floods in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of injured reported since mid-June to 12,850.

Record monsoon rains in south and southwest Pakistan and glacial melt in northern areas have triggered the flooding that has affected nearly 33 million people, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock and causing an estimated $30 billion of damage.

The floods have displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Sindh, where water levels have started dropping in recent days albeit gradually. Officials estimate that it may take two to six months before floodwaters recede completely.

On Saturday, Mehar Assistant Commissioner Mohsin Sheikh told media that the water level had dropped approximately three feet at the ring bund and expressed the hope that the floodwater would recede completely from there within three days.

He further said he was expecting the water to recede from the highway leading to the city in seven days. 'Once it...