Over 50 Villages In Pakistan Submerged In Flash Floods
As many as 30 villages submerged in Sindh province in Pakistan after flash floods from Balochistan entered the province, taking the total number of drowned villages in the hilly region to 50, local media reported.
As torrential rains and flash floods continued in Balochistan, the second stream of floodwater entered in adjacent Qambar-Shahdadkot district and the hilly region of Kachho in Dadu district, causing more losses in different areas.
“Thirty more villages in Kachho and link roads have submerged in the water, as a total of drowned villages in the hilly region has reached 50,” according to sources.
Local sources said that the people of the affected areas are forced to take refuge in hills and protective dykes to save their lives.
Balochistan in particular has seen uncharacteristically heavy rains during the monsoon season this year.
Pakistan’s disaster management authorities on Saturday said that heavy rains and floods left 19 more dead and hundreds of others stranded in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
In the last 24 hours, nine members of a family drowned after they were swept away by the floods in Balochistan, a local media reported. The victims include seven children and a woman.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 10 people were killed and 17 injured in floods and roof collapses. In the last 36 hours, nearly 100 houses were completely damaged in the floods leaving residents stranded in waist-high water and no roof.
Peshawar, Swabi, Charsadda, Shangla, Khyber, Dera Ismail Khan, and Bajaur have been the most affected areas.
In wake of the havoc heavy rains created in Balochistan, provincial authorities have imposed Section 144 in the province.
Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili on Friday said, “Section 144 has been enforced in the province and the citizens have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel for 10 days.”
He said that since June 1, rains have taken the lives of 124 people and damaged 10,000 houses in the province. The floods damaged approximately 565 km of roads and 197,930-acre of agricultural land while 712 livestock also died,” Uqaili added.
Disastrous spells of monsoon rains have led to the collapse of two dams, Jara and Tabina, in the Toba Kakar range of mountains in Balochistan.
The two dams collapsed in the Toba Achakzai offshoot in the Tasharbat, Zemel Shadizi, Mako Kech, Zemal, Ghabarg, Adozai, Farakhi and its suburban parts.
After the dams’ collapse, the floodwater wiped out cattle, crops and farmlands in the affected areas. It is pertinent to mention here that land connectivity to Toba Achakzai was disconnected from other parts of the country for four days.
Meanwhile, the road link between Balochistan with Sindh was completely cut off after a bridge and a road connecting the two provinces were damaged in Lasbela and Khuzdar, respectively.
Traffic on the Quetta-Karachi highway was still suspended due to collapsing of major bridges and the sweeping away of big portions of the highway.
In its latest forecast on Saturday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted more rains, and thundershowers in various parts of the country during the next 24 hours. MET advised the travelers and tourists to remain more cautious during the forecast period.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES