Death toll rises to 62

The death toll in Skardu landslides has climbed to 62 while rescue work continues in Gilgit-Baltistan.

As rescue work continues in Gilgit-Baltistan, officials have said that the number of people who went missing in Saturday’s landslides in Skardu has climbed to 47, taking the death toll from 51 to 62.

“At least 47 people are still missing in Skardu and the death toll can rise. We fear several people have been buried under the rubble,” an official in the Disaster Management Authority, Gilgit, told The Express Tribune on Sunday. “In Hunza alone, there are 13 bridges that were damaged in the floods,” he added.

One of the main suspension bridges connecting Bunji area with Gilgit was washed away by the swelling Indus River that also inundated another major RCC Bridge connecting Astore district, said an official. The floods have damaged 78 bridges in Gilgit-Baltistan, bringing the communication system of the area to a standstill. According to officials, communication links between several villages in Astore, Skardu, Ghizer and Ghanche snapped following the damage to bridges.

In view of threats of flashfloods in Gilgit River, police forcibly evacuated several low-lying areas in Gilgit, shifting them to government structures. Early Sunday, several people vacated their homes and took shelter in their relatives’ houses after the Jutial ravine burst its banks, threatening inundation of nearby houses.

Under heavy overcast conditions, most parts of the Gilgit-Baltistan continued to receive showers, affecting relief activities being carried out by the government. Residents of Skardu expressed their dismay at the relief efforts being undertaken in the area. “Local volunteers searched for living and dead bodies under the rubble with little success as showers posed dangers to the rescuers,” a local said.

According to information reaching Gilgit from Hunza, a landslide triggered by rain, blocked a river turning it into a lake similar to the Attabad Lake. However, water started flowing out of it later.

Also, a food crisis is looming large in Gilgit and elsewhere in the region as the road leading to the area has been blocked on several places, making it impossible for transporters to transfer goods. Over 5,000 people in various valleys are estimated to have been stranded as a result of flash floods.

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