Fresh rains hamper relief efforts

A fresh spell of downpours continued to lash Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday killing nine people and damaging property as the met office predicted more rain in the next 24 hours.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that so far 942 deaths have been reported across the province during the ongoing floods. Rain has also disrupted helicopter services in the worst affected district of Swat, where people are still stranded.

Authorities closed a main road linking Peshawar to Charsadda, causing further difficulties for residents.  The situation is worsening in the Swat valley as residents complained about severe food and fuel shortages as flood waters had swept away bridges and cut off roads.

“We are facing severe shortage of food. There is no petrol in the pumps and no food in the shops, the government is doing nothing for us,” Malik AmirZada, a resident in the area, told AFP by telephone.

According to the PDMA, 870 people have been injured in the floods, while 66,000 people are still stuck in the flood-hit areas of the province. It said that 576 villages have been affected while the total number of displaced persons in the province has reached 879,875.

The provincial flood cell, while declaring emergency in these areas, has asked the families living near the Kabul River to vacate the villages without any further delay as the next 24 hours are still crucial.

According to the cell, water-level in Peshawar’s rivers including Bara, Kabul and Swat has risen following the downpours.

(With additional input from AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune August 9^th, 2010.