Death toll in Pakistan floods rises to 151

Floods triggered by monsoon rains have killed at least 151 people in Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Tuesday.

The flooding started in mid-July after heavy downpours.  

According to the NDMA, up to 77 people were killed in the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 32 in the eastern province in Punjab.

Another 22 were killed in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, 13 in the southern-western province of Balochistan and seven in Gilgit-Baltistan in the north.

The flooding has affected around 1 million people, the NDMA said.

Rescuers from the army and civilian bodies struggled to shift people to safer places and provide them with food and the other necessities of life.  

Meteorological department chief Ghulam Rasool said more rain is expected in the coming days in different areas.

Seasonal summer flooding due to the monsoon brings disaster annually to Pakistan, where successive governments have failed to take preemptive measures to improve the situation.

Last year, nearly 400 people were killed by floods lasting from mid-July until the end of August.