The tales of pain and destruction

A month after being shifted to newly-constructed home, 50-years-old  Saeeda  Bibi,  along  with her two sons and daughters in law had to make a midnight 
escape  from  the  flood  that  sub-merged  entire  locality  in  Nawa  Kili area of Quetta city on the last day of monsoon’s eighth spell.

“I was scared all the time and never thought that I, with open eyes  will  witness  perishing  of  my home that my husband built with hard-earned money," she re-
called the night when her neighbor knocked at their door asking to immediately vacate the house as gushing water of deluge had started washing away homes in the suburbs of main city.

Bibi Saeeda is wife of Mohammad  Ashfaq,  a  retired Deputy  Director  of Education  Department who after receiving gratuity and benevolent fund on 
his retirement, had constructed his  own  house  on  a  small  piece  of  land  after spending  years  in  rented houses.

“Carrying  the  Holy  Quran,  I  stayed  for  a  while  in  the  backyard of my home, with my eyes towards sky, praying to Almighty Allah, to save our house and family,"  she  narrated  the  saga  of  a  nightmare with tears in her eyes.

“We  have  been  listening  that  floods  had  wreaked  havoc  in  green belt of the province, but in the history of Quetta, we had not seen such a disaster as inflicted by recent spells of monsoon," she added.

This  heart-touching story of Saeeda  Bibi  perhaps helps understand the miseries of  those  bearing the brunt of devastating flood with their houses and valuables inundated under knee-deep water.

Balochistan  province,  having  the title of almost half of Pakistan had badly suffered from the eight monsoon spells, overwhelming in magnitude and severity. It swept away the kith and kin of  the  survivors,  their  cattle,  houses and the crops.

“It was unprecedented. We had never even thought of such a disaster,” said 70-year-old Abdul Ali, a resident of Pashtoonabad area in Quetta.

“I spent my life here. We came across  many  calamities.  But,  it  was disastrous."

He appealed to the federal and the provincial governments for an early relief as hundreds of thousands people were forced to stay under  open  sky  direly  needing  food and shelter.

Director General Provincial Disaster Management Authority Saleh  Nasar  said  that  non-stop heavy  downpour,  uncontrolled  waves of water and gushing hill  torrents  had  so  far  claimed  around 250 lives with thousands injured and displaced.

The catastrophe left some 61,718 houses  damaged,  145,936  livestock  dead  and  about  190  thousand  acres  of  agriculture  land  badly affected.

“The  loss  only  incurred  to the agriculture sector of Balochistan is estimated as Rs98 billion,” said Director General Agricultural Balochistan Abdul Wahab Kakar.

“The flood has damaged crops, orchards, 15,800 tube wells, ponds  and  solar  systems  on  an  area of 190,000 acres."

Lasbella, Bolan, Naseerbad, Jaffarabad, Sohbatpur, Kachi, Jhal Magsi, Kohlu, Dera Bugti, Sibi, Quetta,  Pishin,  Qila  Abdullah,  Qilla  Saifullah,  Lorali,  Harnai, Zhob were some of the worst affected districts.

Hundreds of families of Naseerabad division have taken refuge  along  the  highways  as their houses are still submerged in the flood water receding very slowly. Meanwhile, the federal and provincial governments, personnel of armed forces, NDMA and civil society organizations have accelerated the relief operation, daring the challenging situation due to collapse of road infrastructure, connecting highways and bridges.

Balochistan  is  almost  cut  off  from Punjab, K-P and Sindh provinces due to collapse of bridges  on  Quetta-Zhob-Dana Sar-Dera Ismail Khan Road, Quetta-Loralai-Dera Ghazi Khan, Quetta-Khuzdar-Karachi, and Quetta-Sibi-Jacaboad Roads.