The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has declared a rain emergency in the Swat district with immediate effect till August 30 after the Provincial Management Disaster Authority (PDMA) warned of “high to very high floods” in the Swat River.
The decision was taken on the recommendation of the National Disaster Management Authority.
In a notification issued on Friday, KP’s Provincial Emergency Operations Centre said that water flows in River Swat at Khawazakhela point and its tributaries/nullahs had reached high to very high flood levels — 227,899 cusecs — which “may result in a dangerous situation for communities living nearby”.
It has directed the deputy commissioners of Swat, Lower Dir, Malakand, Mohmand, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar to immediately identify vulnerable points and communities at risk to devise mitigation and safety measures.
“Maintain enhanced alert level and monitor the developing situation to reduce reaction and response times,” the centre said, calling for the sensitisation of people living on the banks of the rivers about the increase in water flows.
“Make announcements for timely evacuation of the at-risk population from low-lying/flood-prone areas as per evacuation plans,” it added.
The PDMA also instructed authorities to evacuate cattle from areas at risk of flooding, as well as restrict vehicle movement there.
Monsoon rains this year have spelt disaster for the country. Flash floods in Shangla and Kohistan yesterday wreaked havoc where several portions of the Karakoram Highway, link roads, suspension bridges, houses, hospitals, schools, mini power stations, and water mills were completely washed away.
Earlier today, at least three people drowned in the River Indus near the Bisham area of Shangla. According to the locality’s station house officer, Abbas Khan, two other men in the Shang area were also swept away during the floods.
Separately, a Shangla health department official, Ijaz Ahmad, told Dawn.com that a rural health centre in the Karora area had been washed away by the floods in the Kana river.
Shamsul Hadi, a resident, said that three houses and a mosque were swept away in the floods, while roads and bridges leading to the Ranolia and Dubair areas had been completely destroyed.
In Shangla, the Alpuri-Puran and Karora-Kana roads also suffered several damages at several points, creating a sense of panic among the residents as they were restricted to their houses.
All government and private schools in the area have also been closed until further notice.
In a statement today, the Frontier Works Organisation said that the Karakoram Highway was swept away by floods at Zaidkarh Dassua and was blocked at several points due to landslides.
PM Shehbaz to visit Sindh
Meanwhile, Information Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit flood-affected areas of Sindh today and oversee the relief and rescue work underway.
“He will visit Sukkur, Rohri, Khairpur, Faiz Ganj, Kot Diji and Thari Mirwah,” she tweeted. “The PM will be briefed by the representatives of Sukkur district administration and PDMA on the ongoing work for flood victims, rescue, relief and rehabilitation.”
The prime minister will also meet the flood affectees, Aurangzeb added.
According to a Dawn report today, Sindh and Balochistan are witnessing the heaviest rainfall this year since 1961, as the two provinces recorded until Thursday 522 and 469 per cent, more than the normal downpour this year, respectively.
“Sindh has received 680.5 millimetres of rain since July when the monsoon season actually began,” said a Met official.
“As per calculated and defined standards, Sindh normally gets 109.5mm rains in the monsoon season. So it’s 522pc higher than normal. Similarly, Balochistan receives 50mm of rain on average every monsoon, but it has so far recorded 284mm — 469pc higher. The country has overall witnessed 207 times higher rainfall so far this monsoon and the season is going to last till September-end.”
In other parts of the country also, the situation didn’t look so different this year. Gilgit-Baltistan, according to the Met Office data, has so far received 50.3mm rain in two months, which is 99pc above normal and Punjab 349mm, exactly 90pc higher than its normal downpour in monsoon. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed 31pc above normal rain this monsoon, where so far 257.4mm rains have been recorded.
Vital rail bridge collapses in Quetta
In the wee hours of Thursday, Balochistan’s railway connection was suspended for an indefinite period after a major bridge collapsed near Mach area in Bolan district due to heavy rains and flood, Pakistan Railways (PR) officials said.
Meanwhile, nine more deaths were reported in Balochistan in rain-related accidents, taking the provincial death toll to 236, according to official figures.
According to PR officials, the bridge collapse suspended inter-provincial railway services, as well as trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Turkiye. “The main supporting pillar of the bridge was washed away which resulted in the collapse,” sources told Dawn.