Sindh

It’s coming: Flash flood to pass through Guddu Barrage today

The medium flood carrying 350,000 cusecs is the first to hit Sindh’s barrages this season

Our Correspondent August 16, 2016

Tarbela Dam is normally filled to its full capacity of 1,550 feet till August 15 but this time, as the monsoon is delayed, the authorities are waiting for more rainfall in the catchment areas for the dam to be filled. PHOTO: APP

SUKKUR: A flash flood carrying around 350,000 cusecs of water is likely to pass through Guddu Barrage in the next 24 hours. All three of Sindh’s barrages experienced low floods in July.

According to reports, the first flash flood of the season carrying around 350,000 cusecs of water is likely to pass through the Guddu Barrage within the next 24 hours, after which the water-level will start receding. In July, the Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages all passed three spells of low flood carrying a little more than 250,000 cusecs of water and the recent discharge of 350,000 cusecs will be the highest of the season so far, depending upon the rainfall in the catchment areas.

Sukkur Barrage control room in-charge Abdul Aziz Soomro said on Monday that at 6am the upstream water discharge at Guddu Barrage was recorded at 320,518 cusecs and its downstream was 288,340 cusecs. At the Sukkur Barrage, the upstream was 231,377 cusecs and downstream was 175,422 cusecs, while at the Kotri Barrage the upstream was 112,702 cusecs and 85,997 cusecs is being released in its downstream.

He said that the pond level of Tarbela Dam was 1,536.9 feet and it requires a little more than 13 feet to fill the dam to its full capacity. The inflow at Tarbela was 213,900 cusecs and the outflow was 178,600 cusecs. The pond level of the Mangla Dam was measured at 1,241.65 feet, which is almost full. The dam’s inflow was 26,411 cusecs and outflow was 10,000 cusecs, he informed.

According to him, the Tarbela Dam is normally filled to its full capacity of 1,550 feet till August 15 but this time, as the monsoon is delayed, the authorities are waiting for more rainfall in the catchment areas for the dam to be filled. “It is expected that more rainfall might take place in the upper catchment areas and if no rainfall takes place in the days to come, then the recent medium flood might prove the last flash flood,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2016.