Monsoon floods kill another 45 in Pakistan: Won’t rest till every flood victim is settled, says COAS

QUETTA: The deluge continues to leave a trail of misery, suffering and distress across the country as on Saturday it consumed the lives of 43 more people and left 113 injured. Thus the overall death toll rose to 982 since mid-June when the unprecedentedly disastrous rains and flood season began. As many as 33 people lost their lives in Sindh, seven in Balochistan and two in Punjab, while the PDMA Punjab warned of a threat of flood at Mianwali, Bhakkar, DG Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan.

The back-to-back spells of heavy rains in Sindh have displaced 1.67 million people in the province’s lower and upper regions, according to a report released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). While thousands were evacuated in KP on Friday night and Saturday morning as the rivers broke its banks, threatening Charsadda and Nowshera districts.

Meanwhile, scores of people were killed in rain-related incidents in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as rivers in the province burst their banks, demolishing scores of buildings that crumbled into a raging torrent. At the same time, dam bursts in Ziarat, Pishin, Mastung, Khuzdar and Bolan during the past 24 hours piled up on the existing torment of the flood victims across the country battered by worst-ever deluge.

Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains claimed the lives of seven people, including three children, in Ziarat, Pishin, Mastung, Khuzdar, Bolan and other cities that were inundated with flood water after six dams breached during the past 24 hours. The people were swept away by the flash floods. Later, rescue officials recovered their bodies from different areas.

More than 10 villages of a union council of Nushki are submerged due to over-flooding of the canal. According to the administration, relief teams were reaching the post office in Dak to conduct a rescue operation for the people trapped in the area. The electricity has been suspended in Nushki and adjacent areas for the last two days, which has also triggered a severe water crisis. The protesters blocked the area’s main artery as well, which was later opened after the negotiation.

Protests took place in Quetta’s Mian Ghundi where people slammed the government over non-provision of relief goods after the floods devastated the area. Mir Ziaullah Lango, the adviser on home affairs to CM Balochistan, held a meeting with the protesters. Lango directed officials to ensure timely provision of relief goods to the people.

General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Army Staff, visited the flood-affected areas of Balochistan, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. Gen Bajwa went to flood relief and medical camps established at Goth Sadoori, Lakhra, Lasbela and inquired about well being of local people affected due to the floods. He said that the safety and well-being of our countrymen comes first and we won’t rest until each one of flood affected is not only reached but rehabilitated, no matter how much effort is required. “The people of Pakistan are our priority and we won’t spare any effort to assist them in this difficult time,” he said.

The COAS directed to utilise all available resources to assist the civil administration for rescue, relief and rehabilitation of people and infrastructure in the flood-affected areas.

“We must reach out to our brothers and sisters in need without waiting for orders and help them overcome this natural calamity,” the COAS directed.

Commander 12 Corps Balochistan Lieutenant General Asif Ghafoor also visited the flood-affected areas of District Lasbela, including Tehsil and Lakara and met the flood victims. Lt.Gen. Ghafoor assured the flood victims that the government, civil administration and armed forces were taking all-possible steps to rehabilitate the victims. He also visited the relief camp and free medical camp established by the Pakistan Army and issued necessary instructions regarding timely solution of the health and malnutrition problems faced by the flood victims.

Scores of people were killed in rain-related incidents in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as many rivers in the province burst their banks, demolishing scores of buildings. “Five more people, three of them women, have died when houses caved in during the rains in Lower Kohistan,” District Police Officer Zulfiqar Khan Jadoon told reporters.

In Mansehra, the district administration said four more people were killed in the fresh house collapse and other incidents. In Upper Kohistan, three people were killed in rain-related incidents and standing crops were destroyed. Also, four persons were killed in house collapse incidents in Chakdarra in Lower Dir. A total of nine persons were killed as floods devastated Adinzai, Timergara, Khal, Chakdara, Maidan, Jandol where houses and shops collapsed, causing huge losses to the residents and traders. The land link between the five districts, including Upper Chitral, Lower Chitral, Upper Dir, Lower Dir and Bajaur was cut off following the collapse of Japan Bridge and Zulam Bridge and the main road and link roads in these areas.

The Panjkora River was in high flood and electricity supply communication remained suspended in the most flood-hit areas.

Meanwhile, the Razmak-Dangeen Road and Miranshah-Ghulam Khan Bypass Road have been closed for traffic due to landslides caused by torrential rains in the area. The water level in Tochi River was also rising following the heavy downpour that has been continuing for the last four days. At some points, the river overflowed inundating houses and destroying crops in the area. Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan said that 219 houses had been damaged in the rains and flooding in the district so far.

The flow of water at the Munda Headworks bridge which collapsed late on Friday night has slowed down, but the threat of floods in Charsadda and Nowshera districts remains. The bridge had broken down overnight due to the severe pressure of flood water, which disconnected Tehsil Shabqadar and Prang from the district. The flow of water at Munda Headworks has reduced from 260,000 cusecs to to 94,000 cusecs. On Saturday, authorities ordered thousands of residents in threatened areas to evacuate their homes as rivers had still not reached the maximum capacity.

“Initially, some people refused to leave, but when the water level increased they agreed,” Bilal Faizi, spokesman for the Rescue 1122 emergency service said.

“The house which we built with years of hard work started sinking in front of our eyes,” said Junaid Khan, 23, the owner of two fish farms in Chrasadda. “We sat on the side of the road and watched our dream house sinking.”

Farmer Shah Faisal, camped by the side of a road in Charsadda with his wife and two daughters, described how he saw his riverside home swallowed by a river as the powerful current eroded the bank. “We escaped with our lives,” Faisal said.

During his visit to the Swat district, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said the KP government has already released an amount of Rs1 billion for rescue activities while another two billion would be released soon. He visited the various flood-affected areas of Swat, including Chupriyal, Sukhra and Gulkarai. The chief minister met with flood victims, expressed grief over losses and assured them of steps to have them addressed. Mahmood Khan flayed the federal government and its relief organizations after accusing them of showing zero presence in the province.

The heavy rains in Sindh have displaced 1.67 million people in the province’s lower and upper regions, according to a report released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). The report said that a total population of 4.9m and 648,621 households has been affected. The report said the death toll for Sindh has gone up to 339 in rain and flood related incidents. It said 98,260 cattle had perished so far while 191,030 houses were fully damaged and 395,080 partially damaged. Additionally, 2.72m acres of crop area had been rendered unusable.

In the case of Hyderabad, areas in Qasimabad taluka, Latifabad Units 2, 8, 11 and 12 were badly hit by rainwater, which was mixed with sewage now. The disposal is being delayed as the system is not carrying the required quantum of downpour runoff from the areas, said Javed Malik, a resident from worst-hit Unit 12 of Latifabad.

Among the displaced persons, majority is of peasants also known as sharecroppers. They had shifted to roadsides of farmlands after their mud houses caved in or entire villages were flooded. Most of those displaced have found shelter in improvised tents some of which were provided by the government as well as non-governmental organisations. “For food supplies, we are dependent on charity given by well off people,” said Ramo, a resident in Jhuddo tehsil of Mipurkhas.

Other parts of Mirpurkhas were disturbed as well due to the slow disposal through the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD), which had a discharge of 10, 000 cusecs against the designed discharge of 4,000 cusecs. Once levels of inflow start receding in the drain, it will carry more rainfall runoff from other areas, said Mansoor Memon, director of Sukkur Barrage’s Nara Canal.

Meanwhile, the Indus River remains in high flood at Sukkur Barrage and medium at Guddu Barrage, according to a report issued on Saturday by the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD). The Kotri Barrage reported a medium flood at 6am on August 27. Meanwhile 14 offtaking canals of all three barrages have been closed for around a fortnight due to anticipated rains and flooding in the Indus River. However, Kalabagh and Chashma were witnessing high to very high floods, while Nowshera was experiencing very high floods.

In its warning, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Punjab, has alerted all the relevant departments in the wake of possible threat of flood in Indus during the next 48 hours. In a statement, the PDMA Punjab spokesperson said that there is a threat of flood at Kalabagh, Chashma and Taunsa barrages, which could affect Mianwali, Bhakkar, DG Khan, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan. He said water level could increase in nullahs linked with Koh-e-Suleman Salt Range.