Death toll rises to 27 in Pakistan building collapse as rescue ends
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Arab News
4 days ago
- Arab News
At least 87 killed, 149 injured in rain-related incidents in Pakistan since June 26
KARACHI: At least 87 people have been killed and 149 others injured in rain-related incidents across Pakistan since June 26, according to figures released Thursday by the country's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Pakistan's most populous province, Punjab, reported 29 deaths including 15 children, while the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province recorded 30 deaths, 14 of them children. The southern province of Sindh reported 16 deaths, eight of them children, and the southwestern province of Balochistan saw 11 fatalities, five of them children. One man lost his life in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the NDMA said. 'The total number of 87 deceased include 42 children, 29 men and 16 women,' the NDMA report said, adding that 149 people were injured, 61 children, 52 men and 36 women. Heavy rains have also damaged at least 242 houses nationwide, including 71 that were completely destroyed and 171 that were partially damaged. Flood relief operations have been underway since late June, with authorities distributing tents, ration bags, blankets, sandbags, quilts, gas cylinders, mattresses, kitchen sets, mosquito nets, plastic mats, hygiene kits and food packets to affected families. A total of 24 relief camps have been set up in Punjab and two in Sindh, providing shelter to 176 people. According to the NDMA, around 245 people have been rescued in 21 operations carried out across the country. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with the Pakistani government, has finalized its Monsoon Contingency Plan 2025 to ensure a coordinated emergency response and maintain essential health services in high-risk districts. The plan will be implemented in 10 districts in Punjab and Sindh, nine in Balochistan and four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 'WHO stands with Pakistan and partners to be ready to save lives by supporting rapid response, surveillance and the continuity of essential health services in the event of a natural disaster,' Pakistani state media quoted WHO Representative Dr. Dapeng Luo as saying. 'In a context marked by the impacts of climate change, which are exacerbating risks, it is crucial to be ready to protect the health of all, particularly the most vulnerable,' Luo added. Pakistan has also rolled out a location-based SMS alert system to warn citizens living in flood-prone areas about imminent weather threats.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Arab News
Pakistan to launch targeted polio vaccination drive in northern districts next week
KARACHI: Pakistan will launch a targeted five-day polio vaccination campaign next week, aiming to immunize more than 158,000 children in high-risk districts of the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, health authorities said on Wednesday. The campaign will be conducted exclusively in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, and Kolai-Palas districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), which oversees Pakistan's polio eradication efforts. 'Special focus and effective strategies are being applied in high-risk union councils,' the NEOC said in a statement, referring to administrative units where access and vaccine acceptance remain challenging. The drive will take place from July 14 to 18. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects young children and can cause permanent paralysis. There is no cure, but it can be prevented through multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and a complete routine immunization schedule, experts say. Pakistan, one of only two countries in the world where polio remains endemic, the other being neighboring Afghanistan, has made significant gains in recent decades. Annual cases have fallen dramatically from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to single digits by 2018. However, the country has witnessed a worrying resurgence recently. As of July 2025, Pakistan has reported 14 polio cases, including eight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, according to official data. The country reported 74 cases in 2024, raising alarms among health officials and global partners supporting the eradication campaign. In contrast, only six cases were recorded in 2023 and just one in 2021. The latest targeted drive follows smaller vaccination efforts in high-risk areas. A special campaign was conducted last month in six union councils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu district, where approximately 17,500 children were vaccinated. A similar operation is planned for 11 union councils in North Waziristan, another district with a history of polio transmission. The government conducted three nationwide polio campaigns earlier this year, in February, April, and May, aiming to reach around 45 million children with the help of over 400,000 frontline workers, including 225,000 women vaccinators. Despite decades of effort, Pakistan's eradication drive has faced persistent challenges, including misinformation about vaccines and resistance from conservative religious and militant groups who view immunization campaigns with suspicion. Some clerics have claimed the vaccines are a Western conspiracy to sterilize Muslim children or part of intelligence operations. Vaccination teams and police providing security have also been targeted in militant attacks, particularly in remote and conflict-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. These threats have at times forced the suspension of campaigns and restricted access to vulnerable populations. Pakistan launched its national polio eradication program in 1994.
Arab News
06-07-2025
- Arab News
Death toll rises to 27 in Pakistan building collapse as rescue ends
KARACHI: The death toll from a collapsed multistory residential building in Pakistan's Karachi city rose to 27 on Sunday as a three-day rescue operation ended, officials pulled 11 more bodies from the rubble of the building that collapsed on Friday, according to Dr. Summayya Tariq, the Karachi police surgeon. Ten people were injured and one of them died at a hospital, she said they were investigating the cause of the collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced. Many structures are built with substandard materials, and safety regulations are often overlooked to reduce June 2020, an apartment building collapsed in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, killing 22 people.
