While over 50 villages in #Pakistan drown in the #flashfloods, there are over 300 killed and recently, nine members of a family drowned.
The floods in Balochistan in particular are undergoing extreme heavy rains during the monsoon season this year with over 50 villages in Pakistan submerged in the flash floods and tragically, in the last 24 hours, nine members of a family drowned.
There were as many as 30 villages submerged in the Sindh region in Pakistan after flash floods from Balochistan entered the area, taking the total number of drowned villages in the hilly region to 50, local media reported.
As heavy 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, ARY News reported.
“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.
According to ARY News, the local sources said that the people of the affected areas are forced to take refuge in hills and protective dykes to save their lives.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 10 people were killed and 17 injured in floods and roof collapses, according to a report issued by the PDMA.
It said that in the last 36 hours, nearly 100 houses were completely damaged in the floods leaving residents stranded in waist-high water and no roof.
The data, issued by PDMA, stated that 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, the Dawn reported.
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.
Ashok Swain tweeted Pakistan struggling with floods, with 350 dead. Upstream India releases 300,000 cusecs more water. This is why I always argue Indus Treaty of 1960 has outlived its utility, a new and comprehensive agreement is needed.
Pakistan struggling with flood, 350 dead. Upstream India releases 300,000 cusecs more water. This is why I always argue Indus Treaty of 1960 has outlived its utility, a new and comprehensive agreement needed.
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 31, 2022
However, despite or in spite of a treaty, this is a perennial problem of releasing waters, be it India and Pakistan or Indian within states.
On 16 August 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state of Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season, the worst flood in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, 15 are missing and a million people were evacuated. It was the worst flood in Kerala after the great flood of 99 that took place in 1924.
Thirty-five out of 54 dams within the state were opened, for the first time in history. All five overflow gates of the Idukki Dam were opened at the same time, and for the first time in 26 years, 5 gates of the Malampuzha dam of Palakkad were opened. Heavy rains in Wayanad and Idukki caused severe landslides and have left the hilly districts isolated.
No treaty can stop this and this problem can only be solved with more understanding and communication.