Rain, snow pummel up and down country

Rescuers launch relief operation in worst-affected Gwadar

ISLAMABAD:

Rain with snowfall over the hilly areas, pummelled up and down the country on Friday, from the foots of Himalaya and Karakorum to the coast of the Arabian Sea, unleashing floods in some coastal towns in Balochistan and disrupting daily life in the plains of Sindh and Punjab.

Authorities, who had been warned of rains from March 1 to 3 in advance by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), remained on alert in different parts of the country, and launched immediate rescue in Gwadar to save the marooned people.

The rain started on Thursday night and continued intermittently throughout Friday. The rainfall disrupted the daily life in various parts of the country, especially in Sindh and Balochistan, and caused great inconvenience to the travellers. The rain also compelled the people to remain indoors to stay warm.

At least three children were killed and another sustained injuries as the roof of a house collapsed due to rains in Kharan district of Balochistan. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, an eight-month-old girl was among five people killed in rain related incidents.

So far, Gwadar has been the worst-affected, where incessant rain in several areas caused havoc, damaging houses. The Balochistan government and other rescue organisations, including Edhi Foundation, along with security personnel, started relief activities.

Teams of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), in coordination with the National Highway Authority (NHA), were also operationalised on highways to keep the roads open. The army, navy and the Frontier Corps were engaged in a relief operation in Gwadar, Jiwani, and Subandar areas.

Light to heavy rains also pummelled different parts of Karachi, which disrupted the flight schedule. There was high alert in the province because of the rain. Hyderabad city also received light to moderate rainfall with the downpour sporadically continuing throughout the day.

Upcountry areas

In the federal capital, the rain of moderate to heavy intensity started at midnight and continued till Friday evening. Mercury also dropped in Punjab amid intermittent drizzle. Weather was cold in Lahore and Multan. The rain also cleared smog conditions in Lahore.

Further north, the famous skiing resort of Malam Jabba was snow blanketed after receiving heavy snowfall that attracted tourists and adventure sports lovers in droves. Besides Kalam, Madian and Bahrain, the upper Swat also received moderate to heavy snowfall.

Various roads were closed due to severe snowfall in the vicinity of Lowari Tunnel, Kalam and Malam Jabba. The work of rescuing the passengers has been started. The work of removing snow from the roads was started by the army last night.

In Punjab, the PDMA has forecast heavy snowfall and rain in Muree and Galiyat over the next few days. PDMA Punjab Director General Imran Qureshi urged the local administration to ensure safety measures to mitigate any potential risks.

He appealed to tourists to cooperate with the administration during this time. Tourists should carefully plan their journeys, taking into account the anticipated heavy snow in Murree and severe weather conditions, said Qureshi.

According to the PMD, light to heavy rainfall and snowfall with windstorm, thunderstorms and isolated hailstorm were expected in most parts of the country on Saturday (today).

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