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More than 500 killed in Pakistan floods

Staff WritersReuters
Nearly 550 people have been killed after extreme rains caused widespread flooding in Pakistan. (AP PHOTO)
Camera IconNearly 550 people have been killed after extreme rains caused widespread flooding in Pakistan. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AP

Flash floods caused by abnormally heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 549 people in Pakistan over the past month, with remote communities in the impoverished southwestern province of Balochistan among the worst hit, a government agency says.

Government agencies and the army have set up aid and relief camps in flood-hit regions, and were working to help relocate families and provide food and medicine.

Aside from the fatalities, flooding had damaged more than 46,200 houses, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Friday.

"We're doing our best to provide for extensive relief and rehabilitation of flood victims," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said during a visit to stricken areas.

The past month was the wettest in three decades, with 133 per cent more rain than the average for the past 30 years, the NDMA said.

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Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, received 305 per cent more rain than the annual average, the disaster agency said.

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