Flash floods: Recovery of more bodies dampens Eid spirits

Nine bodies of missing villagers recovered during Eid.

GILGIT:

Amid a search for missing bodies and fears of further devastation in the wake of flash floods, Gabryal village was far from celebrating Eid this year.

“Nine bodies were found during the Eid holidays,” said Ameer Wali, a resident of Kohistan, who also helped recover the bodies. Residents of the village are still in fear of impending disasters as overcast conditions prevail across the mountainous region.

At least 64 people, including women and children, were killed when flashfloods triggered by lightening swept through Gabryal village in the Kohistan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, on August 24.

Initial reports suggested that at least 35 people were missing as a result of the floods. Around 30 houses, standing crops and plantations were also destroyed.

Volunteers completed the search of the missing people during Eid, while Muslims across the world marked the occasion with festivity.

“The search is complete … all the missing bodies have been recovered,” Wali told The Express Tribune on Saturday.

Last year’s floods had destroyed the only road linked to the village, making it virtually inaccessible. “The village is about 70 kilometres from the Karakoram Highway. One has to now cover the distance to the village on foot,” said an official, adding that transporting relief goods to the area has also become a difficult task.

DCO Kohistan Imtiaz Hussain  said that the rations provided to them is sufficient for the next three months.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2011.