Flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain killed at least 26 people and destroyed hundreds of houses in the country’s north on Thursday, officials said.
Azad Jammu Kashmir Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed said at least 17 people were killed and nine others injured in six districts since Monday.
“Some 685 houses and 125 shops have been damaged and roads washed away,” he said, adding that a request had been made to the federal government for financial help.
Irshad Bhatti, a spokesman for the country’s National Disaster Management Authority, said the extent of the damage was still being assessed.
The majority of the deaths in Kashmir came when buildings collapsed due to the rains, and a further nine people died in flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said. Adnan Khan, a KP official, said he feared the death toll could rise.
“Dozens of families have suffered and their houses have been destroyed, several people are still missing” Khan said.
Weather officials are predicting heavy rain in the next three days and rescue teams are closely monitoring the situation, Bhatti said. In Sialkot, flooding in Nullah Dek and Wazirabad’s Nullah Palkhu inundated over 50 villages.
Heavy rains in Sialkot and Narowal, which started on Tuesday night, caused Nullah Dek to overflow.
The flood water inundated 50 villages and submerged standing crop across hundreds of acres of land.
Irrigation officials in Sialkot said 5,000 cusecs of water was passing through Nullah Dek, adding that traffic on the Narowal-Pasroor Road had been suspended. Low-lying areas in Narowal have also been submerged by flood water. In Wazirabad, rains that lashed the area for almost eight hours, caused Nullah Palkhu to overflow.
Standing crops were submerged by flood water while residents of nearby localities began moving to safer places.
According to irrigation officials, 736 cusecs of water was passing through Nullah Palkhu and it was feared that the water level would rise.
In Rawalpindi, three people were killed in Kotli Satyan when a wall collapsed due to heavy rain.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf expressed grief over the loss of life by flash floods in various parts of the country, as he directed the Federal Flood Commission, Ministry of Water and Power and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to closely monitor the situation across the country and keep him updated.
The PM directed that river banks must be reinforced to avert any threat in case of overflows. He also directed all federal and provincial authorities to remain alert and enhance coordination as well as exchange regular information so that a rapid response could be given in case of an emergency.
Ashraf also called for thorough checking and updating of the early warning system so that it could be utilized to warn the people living near rivers and nullahs across the country in time. He directed NDMA to increase the level of preparedness and review the existing stock of material required for operations.
29 killed by heavy rains, flash floods
