Thousands affected by floods in Pakistan

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Thousands affected by floods in Pakistan

More than 580 people have died and thousands have lost their homes in Pakistan as torrential rains batter the country.

In July, an estimated 1 million people have been affected by heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides, as Pakistan endured more than 60% of its normal monsoon rainfall in three weeks.

Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces have been the worst affected, with heavy rainfall predicted across Pakistan until Friday. At least one man was killed in Karachi on Tuesday as non-stop rains hit Pakistan's largest city for two consecutive days.

More than 40 people have died in Karachi due to heavy rains since July.

Nearly 200 people have died in Balochistan, Pakistan's biggest and poorest province, which has suffered its worst floods in more than 30 years. The province received 305% more rain than the annual average, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.

Eighteen of Balochistan's 26 districts have been declared calamity-hit by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. People were forced to abandon their homes as crops and livestock were washed away across the province. Hundreds of miles of road have been damaged, making areas unaccessible to emergency services.

More than 570 schools have been destroyed, and cholera cases have been reported.

Mohammed Safar's farm in Lasbela, Balochistan was was washed away when the rains came at on July 12th. It was 9 am and he and his family had to run for higher ground. If it had flooded at any other time, we might have been washed away like plates in my kitchen. I lost my home, crops and everything in this flood. Safar, 55, said the government gave him a tent, but nothing else. We get food and other help from volunteers or NGOs. The government has left us alone. The heavy rain has started since the weekend, and I fear this will take us away, he said.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has visited the region twice this month. He said that we are doing our best to provide extensive relief and rehabilitation for flood victims. The chief minister of Balochistan, Qudoos Bezinjo, has appealed for more support from the federal government and international donors.

Jam Kamal, a former chief minister and MP from Lasbela, said he had seen little or no government resources on the ground. Despite Met Office warnings, there was no pre-arrangement to deal with the flood. The provincial government has failed badly. If there were no volunteers helping the victims, more people would have died of hunger. He said no one has seen such rains in their lifetime.

Pervaiz Amir, a former member of the national taskforce on climate change, said the flooding was overwhelming.