Pakistan diverts rivers to avoid floods

Islamabad:  Pakistani officials said that military specialists have blown up dikes in central Pakistan to divert swollen rivers and save cities from raging floods that have killed nearly 500 people in Pakistan and the Himalayan region and affected over 2 million others. The breaches at the overflowing Chenab River were done overnight as floodwaters reached Multan, a city famous for its Sufi saints.

Pakistani troops have been using helicopters and boats to evacuate marooned people since Sept. 3 when floods triggered by monsoon rains hit Pakistan and Kashmir. Pakistan’s military said on Saturday that it was still evacuating people and air-dropping food. So far, 274 people have been killed in Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Reema Zubari of National Disaster Management Authority  said in a statement that 194 people have been killed in Punjab, 66 in PoK and another 14 in Gilgit-Baltistan region.