Amid uncertainty: Destruction triggered by cloudburst

PESHAWAR:

The district disaster management unit has said in its initial report the Chitral incident was an outcome of “torrential rain” and “cloudburst”.

However, Pakistan Meteorological Department Director Mushtaq Ahmed Khan told The Express Tribune there was little evidence to prove the incident was an outcome of “cloudburst”.

He said cloudburst was a rare phenomenon which meant there was over 100 millimetres of rain concentrated in a specific area.

“That does not seem to be the case,” Mushtaq Ahmed said. “It seems [more like] flash floods, which is a natural occurrence in the area.”

He added Drosh, which was closest to Ursoon, had only recorded 6mms of rain. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary cloudburst is described as sudden, heavy rainfall.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2016.