Pakistan reels as floods kill more than 80

ISLAMABAD // Floods in Pakistan's Sindh province left more than 80 people dead and forced at least 4 million more from their homes as rains that began on Wednesday destroyed entire villages.

Sindh's information minister, Sharjeel Memon, said: "Some areas have received as much as 550 millimeters of rainfall, which is the highest in the last 10 years." Pakistan's meteorological office has predicted the weather system would persist for two more days. The death toll from flooding in the past month was more than 100.

"Since August 11, when the first spell of rains started, 46 people were killed while 90 more have died since August 27," said Sajjad Haider Shah, an official at the disaster management authority.

The first spell of rain affected seven southern districts of the province, while a second spell has hit the entire province, except its capital Karachi, Mr Shah said.

Pakistan suffered its deadliest floods last year, in which 1,800 people were killed and an area the size of Italy was devastated. The Asian Development Bank said the country had lost US$10 billion (Dh36.7bn) in property and agriculture. The government has set aside 5 billion rupees (Dh210 million) to rehabilitate the affected people, Mr Memon said.

* Bloomberg with additional reporting by Agence France-Presse