June 23, 2015
News
Karachi heatwave death toll climbs 750
INPKARACHI - The three-day death toll due to severe heatwave in Sindh’s provincial capital, Karachi, has climbed above 750 as medics are battling to treat patients and a state of emergency is declared in hospitals.
Majority of the people died in government-run hospitals in the port city of Karachi, Pakistan's economic hub with a population of around 20 million people, as temperatures reached 45 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) at the weekend. Dr Semi Jamali said the highest number of deaths had been recorded at Karachi's largest hospital, Post Graduate Medical College Hospital, where they have treated more than 3,000 patients.
Saeed Mangnejo, a senior provincial health official, said the number of people who had died in the heatwave has mounted above 700, adding that the toll may rise further. Edhi Welfare Organisation officials said their two morgues in the city had received more than 400 bodies in the last three days. "The mortuaries have reached capacity," Edhi spokesman Anwar Kazmi said.
Meanwhile, seven people have died from the heat in Punjab province over the past 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday. The deaths came as the overwhelmingly Muslim country of around 200 million people observes the holy month of Ramadan, during which eating and drinking is forbidden from sunrise to sunset. Some clerics have issued public warnings, saying that physically weak people can abstain from fasting in these tough conditions.
Electricity shortages have crippled the water supply system in Karachi, hampering the pumping of millions of gallons of water to consumers, the state-run water utility said. Temperatures remained at around 44.5 degrees Celsius in Karachi on Tuesday, but thunderstorms were forecast for the evening. "Due to a low depression developing in the Arabian Sea, thunderstorms will likely begin this evening and might continue for the next three days," a senior meteorological official said.
The provincial government announced a public holiday to encourage residents to stay inside. Many of the victims are labourers who toil outdoors. Some residents also took to hosing each other down with water to avoid collapsing from heatstroke. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has issued special instructions to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other relevant organisations to arrange urgent assistance for the heatwave victims.
An NDMA official said heatstroke treatment centres would be established at all hospitals across Sindh. The deaths come a month after neighbouring India suffered a deadly heatwave, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths. Hundreds of mainly poor people die at the height of summer every year in India, but this year's toll was the second highest in the country's history.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk