Rescuers evacuate over 100,000 people from flood-hit areas of Pakistan’s Punjab province in 3 weeks

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say rescuers have evacuated more than 100,000 people from flood-hit areas of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province in the past three weeks. The rescue operations were expanded last week when the Sutlej River started overflowing, inundating several districts. Most of the evacuations occurred in the districts of Bahawalpur and Kasur. Pakistani authorities are still struggling to overcome the damage caused by massive floods last summer that affected 33 million people and killed more than 1,700. They caused $30 billion in damage to the country’s economy.