Floods and heavy monsoon rains have affected more than 4.2 million people in Punjab province, displacing nearly 2.8 million and leaving at least 1,000 dead, Pakistani officials and U.N. agencies said this week.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif doubled compensation for families of victims to 2 million rupees (about $7,140), raising the total cost of the package to more than $7.2 million.
A rapid assessment by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found 161,000 homes damaged across 18 districts, including 46,000 destroyed. Muzaffargarh alone accounted for a quarter of those affected, followed by Jhang, Bahawalpur, Khanewal and Multan.
Floodwaters also damaged 395 health facilities and 667 schools, more than half of them girls’ institutions. Nearly 100,000 water supply schemes were reported damaged, leaving communities without safe drinking water.
Malaria, diarrhoea and dengue have spread across flood-hit villages, compounding the crisis. Officials said agriculture and livestock losses have deepened food insecurity, with most households reporting stocks for less than a week.