Natural disaster: Fresh floods swamp 70 more houses in Chitral
67 DG Khan villages at risk; Sukkur’s Bunder wall starts seeping through
PHOTO: ONLINE
DG KHAN/CHITRAL/SUKKUR:
Seventy more houses have been damaged across Chitral as fresh floods hit the district on Wednesday. Moreover, 67 villages in Dera Ghazi Khan are at risk as some 600,000 cusecs of floodwater is expected to pass through the Taunsa Barrage over the next two days. Meanwhile, panic prevails in Sukkur as the newly-constructed Bunder wall that serves as a protective embankment for the city has started seeping through.
At around 2am in Chitral district, heavy floods hit Lohak, Wakht and Arkari Valley in Garam Chashma. At approximately the same time, the Mori Bala area was also inundated and 25 houses partially damaged.
Meanwhile, power has been restored in various parts of Gilgit-Baltistan after four days of blackout caused by the floods.
Villages at risk
Some 600,000 cusecs of floodwater is expected to pass through the Taunsa Barrage in DG Khan over the next two days, and is likely to affect 67 villages in 15 union councils of the district.
Focal person Mehboob Ahmad said machinery had been deployed at the Head Gajani Super Bund to cope with any emergency.
He said the residents of the villages had been moved to safer areas, adding that 24,256 acres of standing crops had been inundated and 427 houses destroyed.
Ahmad said 12,800 people had been rescued by the district administration. “Six thousand of them were shifted to 41 relief camps.”
Bunder wall seepage
With the water level at the Sukkur Barrage crossing 500,000 cusecs, the newly constructed Bunder wall that serves as a protective embankment for the city has started seeping through, causing panic among citizens.
During the 2010 floods, the water level of the Indus River had reached its peak and was flowing along the height of the Bunder wall, overflowing at certain points.
An amount of Rs210 million was allocated for constructing the new wall after demolishing the old one. However, instead of demolishing the wall, the contractors covered it with a layer of concrete cement and raised its height up to six feet. And now the wall is seeping through.
Meanwhile, Sukkur Barrage control room in-charge Abdul Aziz Soomro said the water level at the Guddu Barrage had started receding.
Moreover, during the Pakistan Navy’s ongoing flood relief operation, 372 people have been rescued from different parts of Sukkur district.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2015.
Seventy more houses have been damaged across Chitral as fresh floods hit the district on Wednesday. Moreover, 67 villages in Dera Ghazi Khan are at risk as some 600,000 cusecs of floodwater is expected to pass through the Taunsa Barrage over the next two days. Meanwhile, panic prevails in Sukkur as the newly-constructed Bunder wall that serves as a protective embankment for the city has started seeping through.
At around 2am in Chitral district, heavy floods hit Lohak, Wakht and Arkari Valley in Garam Chashma. At approximately the same time, the Mori Bala area was also inundated and 25 houses partially damaged.
Meanwhile, power has been restored in various parts of Gilgit-Baltistan after four days of blackout caused by the floods.
Villages at risk
Some 600,000 cusecs of floodwater is expected to pass through the Taunsa Barrage in DG Khan over the next two days, and is likely to affect 67 villages in 15 union councils of the district.
Focal person Mehboob Ahmad said machinery had been deployed at the Head Gajani Super Bund to cope with any emergency.
He said the residents of the villages had been moved to safer areas, adding that 24,256 acres of standing crops had been inundated and 427 houses destroyed.
Ahmad said 12,800 people had been rescued by the district administration. “Six thousand of them were shifted to 41 relief camps.”
Bunder wall seepage
With the water level at the Sukkur Barrage crossing 500,000 cusecs, the newly constructed Bunder wall that serves as a protective embankment for the city has started seeping through, causing panic among citizens.
During the 2010 floods, the water level of the Indus River had reached its peak and was flowing along the height of the Bunder wall, overflowing at certain points.
An amount of Rs210 million was allocated for constructing the new wall after demolishing the old one. However, instead of demolishing the wall, the contractors covered it with a layer of concrete cement and raised its height up to six feet. And now the wall is seeping through.
Meanwhile, Sukkur Barrage control room in-charge Abdul Aziz Soomro said the water level at the Guddu Barrage had started receding.
Moreover, during the Pakistan Navy’s ongoing flood relief operation, 372 people have been rescued from different parts of Sukkur district.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 30th, 2015.