Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Gilgit-Baltistan on Monday and chaired a high-level meeting to examine the damage caused by recent rains, sudden floods and cloudburs in the region.
It was received by Governor Syed Mehdi Shah, who informed him of the extent of the destruction caused by persistent precipitation, including landslides and floods.
Expressing the sadness of losses, the Prime Minister said that Gilgit-Baltistan had undergone significant damage due to extreme meteorological events.
He reiterated that Pakistan is among the countries most seriously affected by climate change, although it contributes to the minimum of global carbon emissions.
Shehbaz stressed that the impacts of climate change intensifies each year and have called for urgent and effective measures to fight them.
He said the Ministry of Climate Change had been responsible for taking immediate measures.
Declarations of the National Authorization for Disaster Disassemble (NDMA) A key national institution, he noted that federal agencies work in close collaboration with the Gilgit-Baltistan government to accelerate rescue and rescue operations.
The Prime Minister also received a briefing at ground level on the situation and was informed of the status of ongoing development projects in the region, as well as the efforts of the local administration to manage the crisis.
The meeting discussed the launch of a Danish school in Gilgit-Baltistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz confirming that the project would soon be implemented to improve educational standards.
The two leaders offered prayers for those who lost their lives in floods. The Prime Minister expressed profound concern about the damage to infrastructure, houses and livelihoods, and ensured the region of full support of the federal government.
Tourists among the dead as an emergency declared in 37 zones struck by the floods
The GB government has declared the state of emergency in 37 areas of the mountainous region after the floods cost the lives of at least 10 lives, most of them and left several other disappeared.
Read: Emergency declared in areas struck by 37 GB’s floods
Four people have been reported injured while at least a dozen others remain unaffected, the ongoing rescue operations.
According to a notification issued by the GB reception service, the affected locations cover eight districts, notably Diamer, Gilgit, Ghizer, Skardu, Shigar, Ghanche, Nagar and Kharmang.
Whole villages have been overwhelmed, the roads carried away and the houses reduced in rubble while the swollen rivers jumped through valleys with a terrifying force.
“People have undergone losses, including loss of human life, livestock, damage to houses, infrastructure and permanent cultures,” said the notification, invoking the 1958 law of the national notification of calamities (prevention and succession).
GB government spokesman GB, Faizullah Faraq, confirmed that 22 vehicles had been swept away and that 509 houses had been destroyed in the floods.
Sudden floods claim that 299 lives through Pakistan since the end of June
While GB has the immediate weight, the wider image through Pakistan is just as alarming. According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), floods and torrential rains since June 26 have killed 299 people nationally, including 140 children.
Find out more: Sudden floods have killed 299 across Pakistan since June 26: NDMA
715 other people were injured, while more than 1,600 houses have been damaged or destroyed. The loss of 428 cattle further deepened the difficulties of affected families.
The NDMA carried out 223 rescue operations and evacuated nearly 2,900 people from the areas affected by the floods.
Thousands of essential rescue articles, including tents, hygiene kits, food packs and watering pumps, were sent to affected communities. The medical teams have treated hundreds in 71 emergency camps.
From August 4, a wave of fresh monsoon should intensify, which increases the risk of sudden floods, landslides and floods on the statements of the glacial lake in vulnerable regions.
