Weather woes: Families displaced, houses damaged in hill torrent

It has been raining in Suleiman Range for the last five days

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

Nearly 2,000 families were displaced and 150 houses of Qasba Wadore were damaged due to the flood in hill torrents, said DCO Dera Ghazi Khan Nadeemur Rehman said on Sunday.

Talking to newsmen, he said unrelenting rains had raised water flows at Chashma to 600,000 cusecs. He said 40 mm rain had been recorded on Sunday.

He said rescue workers had been asked to put in extra hours to cope with the emergency.

According to the reading recorded at 5pm on Sunday, water flow at Chashma was reported at 612,870 cusecs. Water level decreased at Taunsa to 487,000 cusecs.

Traffic on the Punjab-Balochistan highway resumed after Furt Munro landslide debris was cleared by the district administration and the National Highway Authority.

The DCO said life jackets and boats had been dispatched to Notak, Behl, Majoka, Hassan Shah, Kalor Kot and Panjgaraien.

He said five people were injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Kapahi and Haiderabad Thall.

He said they had been taken to Noorpur Thal THQ Hospital and the rural health centre in Haiderabad Thall.

The DCO said more than 300 camps had been set up for those affected by the flood. He said 300 food bags were being distributed daily.

He said 2,400 bags of flour and 16,480 bottles of water had been distributed. He said district government had also provided fodder for the cattle.

He said 132,000 cusecs water was flowing through Wadore torrent after heavy rains that lasted six hours in Suleiman Range.

The DCO said the Irrigation Department had evacuated villages in the areas in a timely manner and had breached several dykes to prevent flood water from entering the district.

Thousands of acres of cotton crop and sugarcane were inundated due to a dyke breach near Safin.

Separately, six people were injured when a van hit a motorbike near Pakki Nehar. In another incident, a motorcycle hit a rickshaw at Darya Khan. Four people were injured in the accident. They were taken to the THQ hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2015.