Officials estimate over 100,000 people affected on the Punjab-Balochistan border. PHOTO: BATOOL AKHLAQ
Heavy rains and flash floods lashed several districts in Punjab on Saturday, ravaging villages and road and rail networks.
At least five people died in rain related incidents, as hill torrents swept across Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur and Jampur districts in southern Punjab.
Floods have affected an estimated 100,000 people on Punjab-Balochistan border, district officials told The Express Tribune. At least ten tourists were also reported missing in the tribal belt of Rajanpur, they said.
Crops were devastated as around 200,000 acres of farmland was inundated. Road links between towns and villages in southern Punjab, meanwhile, were severed by heavy rainfall continued throughout the day. Despite the downpour, however, residents in many areas were forced on to rooftops as flood water accumulated below.
Flood water also entered Fareed Air Base in Rajanpur, as the Kachi canal, which supplies water to Balochistan from the Taunsa Barrage, breached due to heavy rainfall.
Dera Ghazi Khan division Commissioner Chaudhry Muhammad Amin gave eviction orders for flood hit areas and around 800 people have been shifted to safer places. At least 35 flood relief camps have been set up, EDO health Rajanpur told reporters.
In northern Punjab, Sialkot district’s Pasrur tehsil suffered heavily as the Nullah Daik – a seasonal stream that originates in Indian-administered Kashmir, swelled up due to flood torrents flowing down from hills.
The early-morning deluge devastated 30 villages and disrupted road and rail links connected to the district. A wave of floodwater swept over railway lines and roads linking Pasrur and Narowal.
Federal Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid, MPA Rana Mohammad Afzal and senior district administration officials of the area visited the flood-hit localities, where people urged public representatives to declare Pasrur a calamity hit area.
Afzal issued directives to remove encroachments and repair a bridge on Nullah Daik. The worst hit area of Pusror is said to be Qila Ahmedabad where houses are inundated by water four feet deep.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2013.
COMMENTS (6)
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@Khan: Like uttarkhand floods in India...........In fact dams doesn't help...........Deforestation is the cause.........there are no forest left.......
@Khan:
You can't build dams every where you like. You need proper height and natural embankments. These are muddy hills with permeable foundations that would cause problems of water logging if dams are built. What could be done is building of reservoir storage in a systematic manner to hinder the flow of these floods while storing water for future use.
If i was prime minister, i would have built Dam in almost every district by using private sector and local labour force. Can PMLN make positive decision in this direction?
Why are we not building more DAMS???
dear tribune subbers
flash floods are temporary floods and usually occur when existing drainage systems get overwhelmed by water in flow and are unable to drain as fast as the water goes in. this is incorrect usage of the word in your headline. these are severe floods which have devastated arable lands. please make note of this.