Chandigarh: The devastating floods in Punjab have claimed 29 lives so far, the maximum in Pathankot district, besides impacting the lives of more than 2.56 lakh people, officials said on Monday.

Twelve out of 23 districts in the state have been hit in the one month starting August 1, in what the state government called one of the worst flood disasters to hit Punjab in decades, an official bulletin said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday spoke to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and took stock of the flood situation in the state, officials said.

Punjab is facing massive floods caused by the swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers and seasonal rivulets due to heavy rain in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The flood situation worsened due to heavy rainfall in many parts of the state.

According to the bulletin, of the 29 casualties, the maximum – six – have been reported from Pathankot district. Amritsar, Barnala, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Mansa and Rupnagar districts reported three deaths each, while Bathinda, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Mohali and Sangrur saw one death each, the bulletin said. Three people are missing in Pathankot, it added. So far, 15,688 people have been evacuated to safer places across the state.

The district-wise break-up shows 5,549 people have been rescued in Gurdaspur, 3,321 in Ferozepur, 2,049 in Fazilka, 1,700 in Amritsar, 1,139 in Pathankot, 1,052 in Hoshiarpur, 515 in Kapurthala, 163 in Mansa, 115 in Moga, 60 in Tarn Taran, while 25 persons have been rescued in Barnala district, the bulletin said.

The floods have impacted 1,044 villages, including 321 in Gurdaspur, 88 in Amritsar, 24 in Barnala, 72 in Fazilka, 76 in Ferozepur, 94 in Hoshiarpur, 55 in Jalandhar, 115 in Kapurthala, 77 in Mansa, 39 in Moga, 82 in Pathankot and one in SAS Nagar, according to the bulletin.