Fresh rain triggers more flooding in Indus

ISLAMABAD: A fresh wave of floods has been generated and it is predicted that they will continue for another 10 days, officials said on Sunday. However, it is hoped that this time the intensity will be lower.

“Fresh monsoon rains have triggered another flooding in River Indus from Skardu,” said Flood Forecasting Division (Lahore) Chief meteorologist Hazrat Mir.  The intensity of these floods is almost half of those currently passing through Sukkur and other parts of lower Sindh. It might take another 10 to 12 days for the floods to reach their final destination – the Indian Ocean. But all concerned authorities and rescue agencies will have to be on their toes to cope with this fresh wave of flooding, Mir said.

The latest flood is said to hold around 0.5 to 0.6 million cusecs of water, he said, adding that it is not possible for the two floods to combine.

Mir said it is hard to predict when these floods will end. “It depends on rains and their intensity. At the moment, nothing can be ascertained,” he said. More rains can aggravate the areas already inundated by heavy floodwaters, he added.

The metrological department has also warned of more widespread rains and thundershowers over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, northern Punjab, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Thunderstorms and scattered rains are also  expected in parts of southern Punjab, Sindh and northeast Balochistan.

According to new warnings issued by the met department, it is predicted that the River Indus at Tarbela will likely face high to very high flood levels ranging between 500,000 to 650,000 cusecs between Sunday and Monday.

The same flood is expected to reach Kalabagh by Monday (today) evening. It is expected to carry between 550,000 to 700,000 cusecs of water. Its intensity will increase to 750, 000 cusecs when it reaches Chashma later in the day.

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