Floods result in losses amounting to Rs63.79 billion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

According to official sources, the federal government has obtained preliminary estimates of flood damages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir, amounting to Rs 63.79 billion.

The catastrophic monsoon floods have severely impacted Punjab’s agricultural region, particularly affecting rice and sugarcane harvests.

Preliminary damage evaluations

According to sources, the anticipated reconstruction requirements in the three northern regions amount to Rs 44.47 billion. The total damages, encompassing infrastructure, crops, cattle, and houses, are estimated at approximately US $227 million.

Floods devastated crops, cattle, and residences valued at Rs 17.89 billion, with more damages amounting to Rs 45.90 billion reported.

Officials underscored that these are initial figures and may increase as evaluations progress.

Agriculture in Punjab suffers significant damage.

Punjab has emerged as the most adversely affected province regarding agriculture. Floodwaters have inundated over 2.2 million acres of agricultural land, obliterating more than 1 million acres of existing rice crops.

Officials indicated extensive destruction to rice, sugarcane, corn, and cotton crops. Sugarcane plantations of 2.5 million acres were affected, alongside substantial losses in corn and cotton farms.

Proposals now under consideration involve the exemption of taxes and irrigation fees for farmers in the disaster-affected districts of Hafizabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Gujarat, and Multan.

Conversely, Sindh has thus far recorded minimal losses. Approximately 3 percent of the onion harvest has sustained damage, but the majority of flooding have remained confined within riverbanks. Only the Kachha regions have been impacted, leaving the province’s extensive agricultural zone unscathed.