Forecasters predicted more rain in the region in the coming days, and authorities called on villagers in Sindh province’s Jamshoro and Dadu districts near the lake to evacuate. The rising waters reached dangerous levels and posed a threat to protective embankment and embankment, they said. The lake, located west of the Indus River, is the largest natural freshwater lake in Pakistan and one of the largest in Asia. Fariduddin Mustafa, Jamshoro district administrator, said on Sunday that officials made a cut in the lake embankment to allow excess water to escape and eventually flow into the Indus, but the water continued to rise. Mustafa said: “After we assessed that the water level had reached a dangerous level … and there was a fear that the lake embankment could recede at any time, the administration decided to make a cut on the Bagh-e-Yusuf side to prevent any uncontrolled flow of water’. The development came a day after Pakistan renewed its appeal to the international community for help to victims of floods that have left millions homeless across the country. Planes from many countries are bringing supplies into the country via a humanitarian airlift. Many officials and experts have blamed the unusual monsoon rains and floods on climate change, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who last week called on the world to stop “sleepwalking” into the deadly crisis. He will visit Pakistan on September 9 to tour flood-affected areas and meet officials. In its latest report, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority put the death toll since mid-June – when monsoon rains began weeks earlier this year – at 1,290 as more deaths were reported from flood-hit areas of Sindh, Khyber provinces Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan. The authority said relief and rescue operations continued on Sunday with troops and volunteers using helicopters and boats to transport people stranded from flooded areas to relief camps where they were provided with shelter, food and health care. Relief camps have been set up in government buildings serving tens of thousands of people, while thousands more have taken refuge on roadsides on higher ground. Initial government estimates put the disaster at $10bn (£8.6bn) in damage, but Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Saturday “the scale of the disaster is enormous and requires a huge humanitarian response for 33 million people”. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The renewed request for international aid came as Pakistan received 30 planes carrying aid items from Turkey, China, the United Arab Emirates, France, Uzbekistan and other countries with more planes expected in the coming days. Two members of the US Congress, Sheila Jackson and Tom Swatch, were expected to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to visit flood-affected areas and meet with officials.
