Heavy monsoon rainfall and floods have affected 30 million people in Pakistan since mid-June, destroying nearly 125,000 houses and damaging some 288,000 more, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

After a 3-hour meeting this morning, the Pakistani government called on the army to assist the Civil Administration in relief and rescue operations.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif also called for an emergency conference to be held in Islamabad to request the help of the international community.

Sindh and Balochistan are the two most affected provinces in terms of human and infrastructural impact.

Floods killed 234 people in Balochistan where rainwater infiltrated many homes and made them uninhabitable in many areas.

Over 700,000 livestock have been killed, nearly all of them in the province, while damages to nearly 3,000 km of roads and 129 bridges have impeded access across flood-affected areas.

At least 293 people have been killed and 701 have been injured by floods in Sindh. Among the fatalities were three young children, who lost their lives when the roof of their house collapsed in Kandhkot. 57,496 houses were severely damaged or completely destroyed, mostly in the Hyderabad Division, and 830 cattle were killed. (ILKHA)