Late monsoon: Govt sounds alarm as rains lash north

Provinces asked to be ‘on their toes’; AJK bears brunt; death toll rises to 22 in two days; more downpours...

KHAR/ MIRPUR/ PESHAWAR/ ISLAMABAD:

Flash floods, landslides and raging rivers claimed more lives in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as torrential rains lashed across northern Pakistan for a second consecutive day.

The country’s top authority dealing with natural disasters sounded the alarm on Thursday, warning provinces to be ‘on their toes’ to cope with massive floods by next week.

In just two days, rains have cost 22 lives across the country, said National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Zafar Iqbal Qadir.

AJK appears to have borne the brunt, with 13 reported deaths and 800 homes destroyed.

Meanwhile, nine people have been killed in K-P and more than 50 homes destroyed, said NDMA officials involved in rescue operation.

Over 250 people have been injured, and over 120 livestock killed in rain-related incidents, said NDMA officials.

K-P, Punjab brace for more

The worst, however, is not yet over.

Punjab, K-P and some areas of AJK are likely to receive more rains in the coming days, which might cause heavy floods, Qadir said.

He warned the provincial disaster management authorities (PDMA) of Punjab and K-P “to be on [their] toes” for massive floods in various districts of upper Punjab, Nowshera and Balakot in K-P, and some parts of Mirpur, Muzaffarabad and Kotary in AJK.

“We fear the death toll may rise,” Qadir said, adding that heavy rainfalls might cause floods particularly in small rivers.

Early warning for southern Punjab

In an early warning to southern Punjab, Qadir said the monsoon spell can cause low floods in various districts including Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah and low-lying areas of other districts situated on the bank of River Indus in Punjab and Sindh.

Flood contingency plan has already been finalised and inhabitants on the banks of rivers Jhelum and Chenab have been warned by PDMAs to shift on an emergency basis, he said.

For this purpose, PDMAs have moved over 1,000 boats in Punjab and 100 in K-P to assist the affected people, he added.

Not so ominous

The forecast, however, is not as ominous for the southern provinces.

Eastern parts of Balochistan and upper Sindh are less likely to be hit by major monsoons this year, Qadir said, quoting Pakistan Meteorological Department’s weather forecast.

Balochistan, in fact, might face drought condition due to less rains, he added.

Even in Punjab and K-P, the met department says, the rains are not as bad as expected.

“More rains are expected in upper Punjab and some parts of K-P and AJK in the next three days but the intensity of the monsoons is likely to be less than initially expected,” said Director General PMD Arif Mahmood.

Earlier, in preliminary assessments, the NDMA and PMD had warned of monsoon flooding and identified 29 districts across four provinces at high risk of being affected by floods.

AJK bears the brunt

As many as nine people, including three minors, were killed, and seven others injured, in the last 24 hours across AJK, due to torrential rains, said police officials and eyewitnesses.

The rains also caused widespread land sliding, leading authorities to shut down highways, and leaving travellers stranded.

Most deaths occurred due to collapsing walls of makeshift houses, or people drowning in raging rivers.

Two minors – 5-year-old Abdullah and his elder sister Zara, 9 – were killed when the wall of their dwelling fell on them in the Jinnayal locality on the outskirts of Mirpur late Wednesday.

Three-year-old Sohail Faraz was buried alive in his house due to a land slide in village Kotairi in Bagh district.

In another incident, three people of a family were buried alive, and two others grievously injured, after the roof of a house caved in Chatter village in Bagh district. The deceased were identified as Muhammad Salim, his wife Suriya, and their 7-month old daughter Imaan.

A police constable, Muhammad Shakeel, was buried under heavy land sliding in the Shaheed Galli area in Muzaffarabad late Wednesday night. His body could not be recovered despite hectic efforts.

Local authorities, meanwhile, shifted over 30 families from the area to safer places.

One 16-year-old Hamza drowned in Mangla dam Thursday morning while a resident of Muzaffarabad, Ehtesham, drowned in Neelum river. Hamza’s body was recovered, but not Ehtesham’s.

Meanwhile, AJK Minister for Transport Tahir Khokher announced the closure of Muzaffarabad–Neelum valley and Muzaffarabad-Leepa valley highways for all vehicular traffic, for an indefinite period, due to land sliding and avalanches.

The move has left hundreds stranded in the mountainous Neelum and Leepa valleys, but the minister said the authorities were making alternative arrangements to shift the stranded people through mini-vans and jeeps.

Flash floods in K-P

Despite 51mm of rain, the situation in K-P was under control on Thursday.

However, scarred by the 2010 floods’ experience, provincial authorities continued to stay on high-alert to respond to any emergency.

After flashfloods on Wednesday, water level in all rivers returned to normal on Thursday while the PDMA ordered a damages assessment report and list of requirements from concerned district coordination officers (DCO).

“We have disbursed funds to all DCOs but we have still asked them to apprise the department of their needs and requirements”, said Adnan Khan, the spokesperson to PDMA.

Khan said 20-trucks loaded with relief goods from the Punjab government had been received by the provincial information minister in Nowshera while 100 tents have been provided to DCO Nowshera.

Meanwhile, five people, including two minors, were swept away by flash floods following heavy downpour in various areas of Bajaur tribal region on Wednesday.

The deceased include 25-year-old Najibullah, Makrkhanai Bibi, 42, eight-years-old Jannat and Qasim, 10.

A boy, Ali, died at the hospital after he was rescued from Swat river.

Several link roads, electricity and others utilities in the region have also been badly damaged along with standing crop of maize and vegetables, according to locals.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Thursday directed the Federal Flood Commission‚ the Ministry of Water and Power and the National Disaster Management Authority to closely monitor flood situation across the country and keep him updated.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2012.