Upper Sindh braces for flood

Water level in the Indus rises to low-to-medium floods at various rim stations

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD:

Water level in the Indus rose to low-to-medium floods at various rim stations, prompting the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) to issue an alert about a potential high-level flash flooding in upper and central Sindh in the next 36 hours.

The alert came a day after flash floods and rain-related incidents killed eight, injured dozens of others, damaged crops and infrastructure across the country. Also Balochistan remained cut off from the rest of the country as heavy monsoon rains continued to wreak havoc.

According to a daily FFC report, Indus river was in medium flood at Guddu-Sukkur reach and in low flood between Tarbela-Taunsa reach. It added that Kabul River was in low flood at Nowshera, while the other main rivers – Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Indus at Kotri – were flowing normally.

During the next 36 hours, the FFC said that high-level flash flooding was expected in Larkana, Jacobabad and Qambar Shandadkot districts in upper Sindh, and Hyderabad, Dadu and Jamshoro districts in the central region of the province.

"Yesterday's well-marked low-pressure system over the Bahawalpur division has since weakened into a low-pressure area, now centred near the Larkana district," it said. "Also, moderate to strong moist currents are penetrating Sindh, southern Punjab and adjoining areas of Balochistan," it added.

For the next 24 hours, the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) predicted scattered thunderstorm rain of moderate intensity with isolated heavy falls over Islamabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Multan and Bahawalpur, MirpurKhas and Quetta divisions and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Furthermore, the FFD said, widespread thunderstorm rain of moderate to heavy intensity with scattered very heavy and Isolated extremely heavy falls might occur over Dera Ghazi Khan division and Balochistan's Zhob, Nasirabad, Loralai, Sibbi, Kalat and Makran Divisions during the same period.

"As a result of these conditions, high to very high level flash flooding is anticipated in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan division in Punjab, and the Nullahs of Balochistan's Sibbi, Nasirabad, Loralai, Zhob and Kalat divisions over the next 36 hours.

The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) issued a warning for potential flash flooding in southern Punjab in the next 24 hours and advised the people to exercise extreme caution and take necessary precautions, a spokesperson said.

"We have taken all necessary precautions and are fully prepared to respond to any emergencies that may arise," the spokesperson said. "Citizens are encouraged to stay tuned to local news and official social media accounts for updates on the flash flooding situation."

Heavy monsoon rains continued to wreak havoc across the country on Saturday, triggering flash floods that battered areas in Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Ziarat, Pishin, and Chaman. In Chaman, flash floods washed away a railway track, while another was damaged in Noshki.

Sukkur plunged into darkness after receiving 180mm of rain last night, while Faisalabad saw 131mm of rainfall on Friday, flooding low-lying areas. Cities like Jacobabad, Larkana, and Sukkur were expected to experience heavy rainfall until the morning of August 19 (today).

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)