Floods, rain cause 15 deaths in Pakistan

Islamabad - Several villages inundated, thousands rendered homeless; all major rivers overflowing

Flash floods triggered by glacial lake outbursts and cloudbursts on Tuesday ravaged Chitral for the fifth consecutive day and the Dera Ghazi Khan division in Punjab where hill torrents have inundated vast areas.
At least 15 people have been killed so far in heavy rains while several villages have been inundated and thousands have been rendered homeless. While Chitral River was reported to be in high flood, all other rivers including the Indus, Kabul, Chenab, Sutlej and the Ravi were in medium flood. Authorities have evacuated population along the river banks to safer places.
The Pakistan Army is carrying out rescue missions, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak has approved Rs1 million for providing immediate assistance. Although other parts of the province and the tribal belt have also been affected by downpour, Chitral has been in the thick of the calamity.
Infrastructure has been the worst-hit and the upper areas of the district have virtually been cut off from the rest of Chitral, affecting as many as 200,000 people.
River Indus and other major rivers of the country were over flowing as monsoon rains continue. Residents of low-lying areas of Kot Mithan moved to safe locations due to high flood in River Indus.
The river is flowing in medium flood at Rajanpur and D.G. Khan while more than 200 villages have been inundated in Rojhan and Layyah areas. Torrential rains and flash floods have hit various villages and cities across the country, forcing the authorities to declare an emergency and issue alerts.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and Met Office, flash floods wreaked havoc in Chitral, Rajanpur, Awaran and Ghotki, forcing residents to shift to safer locations.
Glacial lake outbursts, cloud outbursts and flash floods hit different parts of district Chitral causing extensive damage to houses, mosques, bridges, roads, irrigation and water channels. The communication infrastructure was also severely affected. The situation may worsen as the the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that there would be a risk of flash flooding in the local streams and nullahs of Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eastern Balochistan and Kashmir during the next three days due to unstable weather conditions and significant monsoon rains.
It also advised people living in the low-lying areas along streams and nullahs to remain vigilant during the period. In south Punjab, over 100 villages were submerged in floodwater, which created problems for the inhabitants.
Four villages in Rawaki near the Kacha area of Ghotki were completely submerged while more than 50 villages in Guddu remained cut-off from the rest of the country. High level flood was recorded in Indus at Chachra in Rahim Yar Khan, officials said on Monday. Indus and Chenab rivers merge at Chachra.
According to district Flood Control Room, a stream of 2, 60,000 cusec water is passing through the river with a flood warning issued in Indus River. Various rivers - Jhelum, Sutlej, Kabul and Indus - have been witnessing medium to high level floods at various points and the authorities have directed the staff concerned on duty to remain alert to cope with any emergency.
High-level flood was recorded in Indus as many villages were inundated in Rahim Yar Khan, Layyah and Rajanpur, as the authorities asked people to shift to safer places amid the threat of more flooding in the next few days.
news@khaleejtimes.com
(With inputs from Online)

• Pakistan