Relentless rain heaps more misery on K-P, Balochistan

PESHAWAR/QUETTA:

The third spell of monsoon rains took lives of at least five people, including three children, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Thursday, besides triggering flash floods that washed away roads and bridges in several remote areas in upper and central parts of the country.

Torrential rains and flash floods also severed Balochistan’s road link to Punjab and Sindh, while hundreds of people were displaced when at least 50 villages were inundated after the Chenab River burst its banks in Punjab.

K-P was the worst-affected province, where five people died in rain-related incidents, including four due to a wall collapse incident in Mansehra.

Another fatality occurred in a landslide in Abbottabad district, according to rescue officials.

Heavy rain, which started early in the morning in the Dir region, triggered flash floods in rivers that washed away the main highway, and inundated shops in several areas, local residents said.

They said that the main GT Road was swept away by floodwater between Talash Bazaar and Shamshi Khan.

“The highway to Peshawar is closed for all types of traffic after the GT Road was swept away,” a local official said.

Because of the road closure, passengers were facing severe difficulties, as they remained stranded in their vehicles.

Read Four seminary students drown in Lower Dir stream

Besides there were reports of landslides in remote hilly areas of Swabi, as a result of which, Kala Dhaka, Narra, Amazai and Birgali have been cut off from other areas.

There were also reports of road accidents, including two buses falling into ditches near Soray Bridge and in Swabi.

Balochistan

The historic Pinjara Bridge in the Bolan mountains, which caved in in last year’s devastating floods in the province, was washed away in flash floods that snapped the flow of traffic between Balochistan and Sindh, officials and witnesses said.

The bridge could not be reconstructed in almost a year. Levies sources on Thursday said that flash floods unleashed by torrential rains swept away the remaining portion of the bridge the other day. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded in the area.

“We have been waiting for the last three days for the reopening of the road,” Muhammad Aslam, a truck driver, told The Express Tribune via telephone.

Aslam said thousands of people were stranded on either side of the road because of the collapsed bridge.

Quetta, Washuk, Pishin, Lasbella, Naseerabad, Kharan and other parts of Balochistan received heavy rainfall in the last two days.

“People here had yet to recover from the impacts of last year’s floods, when the new wave struck,” Hyder Bakhsh Mastoi, a resident of Dera Murad Jamali, lamented.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that floods and torrential rains so far had claimed six lives in Balochistan.

It claimed to have provided relief and support to the floods victims, but the residents of the affected areas complained about the lack of relief.

Punjab

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on a social media post that a westerly wave was present in upper and central parts of the country and a vigorous monsoon activity was likely in upper and central parts of the country until Sunday.

In Punjab, hundreds of people were displaced when at least 50 villages were inundated after the Chenab River burst its banks.

Officials said more than 14,000 people were evacuated from villages elsewhere in the province earlier this month because of flooding caused by the monsoon rains.

The river levels have been affected by India opening sluice gates to release pent-up water into the Indus tributary.

Officials announced plans to build protective embankments along the Chenab River but warned more flooding is expected in coming days.

Because of the relentless rain, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) convened a meeting of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC). The meeting directed the district administrations and provincial disaster management authorities to be prepared for any eventuality.

An NDMA spokesperson said that the highest rainfall during the last 24 hours occurred in Lahore, Sialkot, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Okara, Kakul and Islamabad.

The spokesperson added that 157 people had died and 249 sustained injuries in rain-related incidents since June 25.

The NDMA said that the overall river flow situation across the country was stable and within limits, adding that the flow in the Indus River was slightly higher because of the rains, as it went into a medium-level flood at Taunsa.

The situation in the eastern rivers – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej – was also termed stable.

The NDMA expected a moderate flood level in the Sutlej River at Sulaimanki during the next 24 hours, according to the spokesperson.

Separately, Water Resources Minister Khursheed Shah chaired a meeting on the water situation in rivers in Islamabad.

He said that the federal and provincial institutions concerned had already been alerted while the overall situation remained under control.

Khursheed said that the Hub Dam near Karachi had been filled to its capacity, with the water level rising to 339 feet.

He noted that there was 645,470-acre feet of water stored in the dam, which could be supplied to Karachi and Lasbela district for three years.

Flood alert

The PMD said in a weather update that K-P, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab, Potohar region, Islamabad, rastern parts of Balochistan and upper Sindh were likely to receive rain with strong winds and thundershowers.

It warned that there was a risk of flooding in the rivers in Dera Ghazi Khan, Zhob, Barkhan, Kohlu, Sibi, Nasirabad, Musakhel, Shirani, Harnai, Bolan, Loralai, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Kech, Torbat, Panjgur, Awaran and Girdonwah from Saturday.

From Thursday till Saturday, floods were expected in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Narowal, Sialkot, Lahore, Kasur and Faisalabad.

Besides there was a risk of landslides and flooding in local and rain-fed rivers in the hilly areas of Murree, Galliyat, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and K-P.

The department advised tourists and travellers to remain extra cautious to avoid any untoward situation during the wet spell.

The Federal Flood Commission (FFC) said a moderate to heavy flash flooding in Kabul River in Nowshera and hill torrents in the DG Khan Division were expected during the next 72 hours.

According to the daily FFC report, Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs had attained 82.44% and 79.43% of their maximum storage capacity, respectively. It said that Tarbela reached 5.809 MAF and Mangla 7.356 MAF. (WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)