Mudslides block nine points of KKH

Commuters, tourists urged to avoid unnecessary travel

GILGIT:

Landslides caused by extreme rain-triggered flooding on Monday left the Karakoram Highway (KKH) blocked at several points for the second time in less than a month.

Meanwhile, the authorities scrambled to clear the arterial passage where traffic reportedly faced hindrances on swamped roads.

According to Diamer Deputy Commissioner (DC) Captain (retd) Arif Ahmad, the highway was blocked at nine different points in an area of 1.5 kilometres.

The mudslides also damaged a few vehicles. However, no injuries were reported and the passengers were successfully rescued after their vehicles were pulled out. He said 50 houses had been damaged in the district due to the floods in the past eight days while around 250 kilometres of linked roads and nine vehicles had been damaged.

Authorities shared that major roads as well as water supply lines also took a beating in Diamer district’s Darail tehsils, urging tourists and commuters to temporarily avoid unnecessary travel via the KKH as landslides and mudslides had become frequent.

Earlier this month, passengers were left stranded after heavy downpours spawned extreme flooding and a landslide on the KKH, leaving parts of the arterial passage blocked and creating punishing travel conditions.

The landslide had forced the closure of the thoroughfare between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) Upper Kohistan and Chilas in G-B’s Diamer district. The surface communication with China was also disrupted due to landslides near Khunjerab Zero Point.

The incident had resulted in slowed traffic with reportedly hundreds of people trapped on swamped roads as efforts to restore the artery failed

NDMA alerts flood, GLOF risk

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Sunday issued an advisory indicating flood and glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) risk due to expected rain in Punjab, K-P, G-B, Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The NDMA advisory underscored that according to the forecast of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, rain was likely to occur in Punjab, K-P, G-B, Islamabad and AJK during the next 48 to 72 hours.

The flooding conditions were expected in the tributaries of Kabul River and hill torrent of Dera Ghazi Khan Division from July 27 to 30.

Due to the confluence of flows at Taunsa, Panjand and Guddu barrages, the high flood level may be reached on July 30 and the high flood level at Sukkur Barrage on July 31.

An increase in the flow of rivers and streams of G-B and the occurrence of GLOF in mountain valleys was also expected.

The NDMA issued instructions to the relevant departments indicating that in order to remedy the possible dangers, the public should be notified in advance and safety measures should be publicised and the traffic towards sensitive areas should be systematically monitored.

However, the relevant departments should keep machinery ready to deal with emergency situations.

The departments concerned should also take measures for relocation of the people living in low-lying areas.

(With input from APP)