Almost 1,000 people have been killed and thousands more injured by flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across Pakistan since mid-June.
The new death toll came a day after Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif asked for international help in battling deadly flood damage in the impoverished Islamic nation.
The monsoon season, which began earlier than normal this year, has lashed Pakistan with particularly heavy rains and rescuers have struggled to evacuate thousands of marooned people from flood-hit areas. The crisis forced the government to declare a state of emergency.
In north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, flooding destroyed the gates of a major water control system at the Swat River, leading to flooding in the districts of Charsadda and Nowshera, said Charsadda administrator Sania Safi.
“We pre-empted the situation and warned and forced hesitating residents to leave their homes for safety and move to relief camps established at government buildings in safe places,” she said.
Ms Safi said there were concerns about the Swat and Kabul rivers rising further, adding to the misery of residents who have already suffered the loss of lives and property.
In Nowshera district, local administrator Quratul Ain Wazir said flood waters submerged streets before the gushing waters headed toward low-lying areas.
“Our administration has evacuated many people and taken others to relief camps where government provided beds and food in safe buildings,” she said, adding: “We will use police to force those hesitant to leave their homes.”
Khushal Wahab, who lives in a neighbourhood in Nowshera submerged in water, said residents recalled catastrophic flooding that took place 2010 and many evacuated fearing similar danger. “People are scared,” he said.
Information minister Maryam Aurangzeb said soldiers and rescue organisations were helping people to reach safety in many districts of southern Sindh, north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eastern Punjab and south-western Baluchistan provinces.
“Government has sanctioned sufficient funds to financially compensate the affected people and we will not leave our people alone in this tough time,” she said.
Ms Aurangzeb asked wealthy people and relief organisations to come forward with aid to help flood-affected Pakistanis.
In response to Mr Sharif’s appeal for international aid, the UN planned a 160 million dollar (£136 million) flash appeal for donations, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Asim Iftikhar. He said in his weekly briefing on Friday that the appeal will be launched on August 30.
