PESHAWAR/SUKKUR/KHAIRPUR – Fresh rains lashed flood-hit areas on Sunday, hampering aid efforts and threatening to further deepen the crisis affecting 15 million people in the country’s worst-ever floods.
Like other parts of the country, the devastating rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued further raising the scale of destruction and making more people homeless and causing loss of several lives.
Besides thwarting relief activities, the latest spell of rains starting since Friday evening continued unabated and the SundayÂ’s heavy downpour further exasperated the situation, bringing in more destruction and loss of precious lives.
Almost all the KP rivers including Kabul, Swat, Jaindi, Shahalam, Kurrum and Gambeela recorded high flood threatening villages along their banks. The Kabul River, which once again bulges out with outflow of 2,57,000 cusecs at Nowshera, according to the Flood Warning Cell-Peshawar, once again brought testing times to Nowshera Kalan wherein the water once again pumped into the locality already horrified by floods. Road connecting Charsadda and Nowshera were also closed for traffic once again.
The flow of Swat River at Charsadda was recorded 62,761 cusecs, while the river Panjkora flow remained high with 33,423 cusecs at Talash area of Lower Dir.
Ten more villages were inundated in Lakki Marwat as both Kurrum and Gambeela rivers sprawl into nearby localities. Eight people including a woman lost their lives in the floodwaters in the area, wherein in Taterkhel locality 25 more houses collapsed amidst the torrential rains and the floodwaters are entering Ummar Ada and Dattakhel area. In District Hangu, in the Zargari area six people lost their lives in a house collapse as about 30 houses were reported completely damaged.
The spell of intermittent rains in DI Khan for 12 hours have come to an end but once again left behind the masses to cope with the raising water level in the region. In Tehsil Kolachi, thousands of local population were stranded in flash floods waiting for rescue teams to evacuate them safe from the locality while the Mundra Bridge on Dera-Chasma road also collapsed in the wake of floods. Dera-Zhob road still remained closed for all kind of traffic.
In the farthest northern region of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the weather remained uncongenial to carry on relief and rescue activities and in Swat the affectees faced problems and the helicopter service had to be suspended causing break in supplying ration to Madyan, Kalam and Bahrain.
Charsadda once again faced the wrath of torrential rains where dozens of houses in Serdheri, Ibrahimzai, Tangi, Shabqadar and Charsadda city collapsed.
The raising water level in the river Kabul and Jaindi is once again posing threat to the area, particularly Shabqadar.
Besides reducing the day-to-day activities in Peshawar, the heavy rains also caused delay in scheduled flights from Peshawar Airport and the passengers were enraged for not getting substantive information from the authorities about the prospects of their boarding various flights to foreign countries from the airport.
The passengers on the airport also staged a protest demonstration against what they termed inefficiency of the authorities in managing flights to various destinations from Peshawar.
In Sindh, over 700 villages of katcha area of River Indus have been inundated in Khairpur during last three days and water level continues to swell. All the villages from Baberloi to Sagyoon about 150 km wide in taluka Khairpur, Kingri, Gambat and taluka Sonbhodero have been inundated.
DCO Muhammad Abbas Baloch, DPO Pir Muhammad Shah along with Army, Navy and other administrative officials visited the embankments along Jamshed, Faridabad, Ulra Jagir and reviewed the arrangements.
Government of Sindh has established 15 relief camps, 31 medical camps, 23 animal husbandry camps equipped with all facilities.
Rangers and irrigation officials are patrolling along sensitive points and army had made arrangements to protect spurs at Faridabad, Ularajageer and Jamshed Lope in Khairpur. The reports said floodwaters entered Goth Sommer Mallah at Jamshed Lope.
Over 30,000 people are likely to be affected by the potential flooding at embankment of Nusrat, Aqil Agani embankment and Puranaabad areas of Larkana while over 15,000 people has been evacuated to safer places in Khairpur and Larkana.
Bodies of two children also fished out near Kacho Bhindi near Ghotki.
Meanwhile, the upstream water flow at Sukkur Barrage was recorded as 11,17,000 the discharge reached at 11,06,000 cusecs. At Guddu Barrage, the inflow and outflow stood at 11,48,000 cusecs each, said the Irrigation Department sources.
The boundary wall of a Hindu saint ‘Sadhu Bella’, situated at an island in River Indus near Sukkur city, collapsed while the Rangers personnel removed four persons from the premises.
On the other hand, water burst out of the embankments as result of a 100 feet breach in BS Feeder after which the torrent submerged Indus Highway and was moving towards the populated area; but fortunately, most of the residents had already shifted to the safer place.
A three-feet hole in foundation of Larkana-Khairpur Bridge occurred on Sunday. Journalists said that the hole developed due to the non-compaction of silting.
NHA official when contacted said that the hole developed due to heavy downpour rather than technical fault, adding that it would be filled up once again by the authority.
Heavy rain lashed Larkana and its surroundings on 3rd day, damaging several government and private buildings including Chandka Medical College Civil Hospital, Shaikh Zaid Women Hospital, Pilot High School, Sambara Inn, Government Degree College, Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library, District Council Office, Kausar Mill, Nazar Muhalla, Waleed Shaikh Zaid Colony, Ali Mohammed Colony, Gharib Abad and Lahori Muhalla.
Agencies add: Rescuers rushed to evacuate families in the poor southern farming belt of Sindh, where officials were readying for a deluge that could burst the banks of the swollen Indus River.
The high flood at the Guddu Barrage inundated dozens of villages in Ghotki, Shikarpur and Kashmore districts.
The Indus River overflowed its banks near Sukkur, submerging the village of Mor Khan Jatoi with chest-high water and destroying many of its 1,500 mud homes.
“We were strengthening the embankment ourselves to save the village but failed and it was breached this morning and water inundated the village,” said one of the affected villagers, Dadal Morai, who complained they have not received any government help.
Various villages were deluged when Bachal Shah Mayani Bund adjoining Sukkur Barrage breached.
Also in District Kashmore, Tori Bachao Bund fell apart, overwhelming over 15 villages adjacent to Ghauspur and Karampur.
Now, the floodwater is heading towards Ghauspur and Shikarpur, where the administration announced emergency situation.
RDM 45 Canal in District Dadu at Gaon Sahib Khan Khosa received 50-foot fissure, submerging under water at least four villages and hundreds of acres of agricultural land.
Administration, declaring Kati Jatoi Bund as sensitive, ordered the local people in the nearby villages to immediately evacuate.
Ghotki is witnessing high flood tide. Large number of the affected people is present at Qadirpur Lope bund, where intermittently lashing rains are posing hardships for them.
The water has sustained its pressure at the protective bunds of Nusrat, Aqil Agani and Paranaabad areas of Larkana.
Meantime, over 7,000 people stranded in catchments areas are being transported to safer locations.
Hundreds of people in Punjab were evacuated from drenched areas to a railway track on higher ground. A military helicopter was due to land to rescue them but could not due to poor weather.
“What we are wearing is all that we have, the rest is all gone – our house, animals, wheat we had stored, everything has been destroyed,” university student said Fiza Batool as she fed her 10-year-old sister biscuits.
The flooding has threatened electricity generation plants, forcing units to shut down in a country already suffering a crippling energy crisis.