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Floods from record monsoon rains and glacial melt in the
mountainous north have affected 33 million people and killed
almost 1,400, washing away homes, roads, railways, livestock and
crops, in damages estimated at $30 billion.
Both the government and U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres
have blamed climate change for the extreme weather that led to
the flooding, which submerged nearly a third of the nation of
220 million.
The electricity station in the district of Dadu in the southern
province of Sindh, one of the country's worst affected areas,
supplies power to six provincial districts.
Troops were busy strengthening a dike built in front of the
station, a visit to the site showed on Sunday.
"All preventive measures have been taken already to save the
grid in case any flooding happens," Syed Murtaza Ali Shah, a top
district official, told Reuters on Monday.
The comment followed orders from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,
reported by state broadcaster Radio Pakistan, to ensure the
500kV power station did not get flooded.
U.N. agencies have begun work to assess the South Asian nation's
reconstruction needs after it received 391 mm (15.4 inches) of
rain, or nearly 190% more than the 30-year average, in July and
August.
Sindh received 466% more rain than average and all the flood
waters pass through Dadu, a district with a population of 1.5
million, thanks to its location.
(Reporting by Syed Raza Hassan in Dadu; Writing by Alasdair Pal;
Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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