Floods amid outbreak

Flash floods in Harnai town of Balochistan have destroyed scores of houses and shops. Heavy rains earlier this week brought about the destruction. According to the provincial government, more than 400 houses and 200 shops have been completely destroyed and standing agricultural crops too have been damaged. Mountain torrents as a result of the rains caused the flash floods. Mountain torrents are a usual phenomenon in mountainous regions of Balochistan. Harnai town, the whole district rather, is surrounded by mountains. The town is close to Quetta, the provincial capital. The government, NGOs and philanthropists have sent food items and other relief goods to the town. The government says losses suffered by people are being assessed in order to pay compensation to the victims. Reinforcement work on the protective embankment is underway to protect the town from harm in the future. Paramilitary personnel are ably assisting provincial officials in relief and rescue operations. Several provincial ministers and high government officials have visited the town and given necessary instructions to local officials to do the needful.

In view of the presence of the novel coronavirus in all provinces of Pakistan, the government needs to take special care of the temporarily displaced people. Those whose houses have been affected in the floods should not be accommodated in crammed spaces in order to avoid person-to-person contact. The displaced persons should also be educated on the need for maintaining a certain distance from one another in order to avoid physical contact. They should also be informed about other measures necessary to protect from the deadly virus. Provision of sanitiser and liquid soap should be ensured at places housing displaced people. They should also be provided with protective masks. Displaced persons need to be provided with all kinds of protection from the novel coronavirus on a priority basis. They should also be told to practise cleanliness. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2020.

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