Hundreds of thousands of people were fleeing flash floods on Wednesday after having been warned to evacuate as the death toll from severe monsoon rains and flash floods in Pakistan and neighboring India climbed to 457 people, AP reported.
Chenab River breached an embankment early Wednesday following a warning the day before, said Ahmad Kamal, spokesman for Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority. It could be a 300 feet wide breach, Pakistani Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Mohammad Asif told the country's parliament on Wednesday. 'We have so far breached it only 100 feet.' He had said on Tuesday that the breach could cause nearly 700,000 to leave their homes.
Five more districts could be at the risk of the flooding, said Kamal.
The floods, which began in the Himalayan region between the two countries on Sept. 3, have flowed down to the plains. The deluge is the worst since 2010, when some 1,700 people died in flooding in Pakistan.