Jhelum could rise to ‘medium flood’

Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs are close to their maximum conservation level of 1,242 feet

ISLAMABAD:

Owing to the ongoing monsoon spell, the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) has predicted a sharp peak of up to a ‘medium flood’ in River Jhelum -upstream from Mangla over the next 24 hours. It has further warned of mild flows in hill torrents in Dera Ghazi Khan Division.

In a report issued on Friday, the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) said that all the main rivers of the Indus River System are currently flowing with normal discharges and there is no riverine flood situation in the country.

The daily FFC report on Friday said that the water level in the Tarbela reservoir was 1,468.6 feet, which is 61.4 feet and 48.84 feet lower than the water levels on the same day in the past two years. Moreover, it said that the water level was 82.6 feet higher than its dead level of 1,386 feet. Water inflow in the dam was recorded at 193,700 cusecs, while the outflow was 125,000 cusecs.

Similarly, the water level in the Mangla reservoir on the Jhelum River stood at 1,229.8 feet, with an additional storage space of 12.2 feet still available before the water reaches the dam’s maximum conservation level (MCL) of 1,242 feet. The water level in the dam was 189.8 feet higher than its dead level of 1,040. The inflow and outflow of water were recorded as 33,600 cusecs and 15,000 cusecs respectively.

The FFD, while quoting the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) further said that scattered thunderstorms and moderate rains with a few heavy falls are expected over Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, and Lahore Divisions of Punjab along with the Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan Divisions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. APP

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2020.