Floods triggered by torrential monsoon rains have wreaked widespread havoc across the country, leaving as many as 150 dead and rendering thousands of people homeless. Government officials placed the number of deaths at 89, but unofficial statistics says over 150 people have been killed in various rain and flood-related incidents. In Balochistan, several villages have been inundated by heavy rainfall and a breach in Pat Feeder Canal in Naseerabad, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate the area. The floodwater submerged railway tracks and highways in Naseerabad and Jaffarabad, as hundreds of mud houses were washed away and thousands of families were rendered homeless across the province.
Several areas have been completely cut off as bridges have been washed away and roads submerged by torrents. Several people are reported to have been left stranded in flooded areas of Rabi and its surroundings that include over 500 villages, disconnecting the traffic plying on Sindh-Balochistan National Highway. Relief teams were busy in rescue operation in flooded areas of Naseerabad and Jaffarabad in concert with the administration and army soldiers. The rain has come to a halt after inundating several areas in Sibi and rescue work had been initiated in the area. The rain that lashed several areas of Jacobabad for the last seven days stopped on Tuesday. At least three people were injured in different incidents of roof collapse. Three to four-foot deep water was standing in several areas, forcing the residents to move to safer places. Another six villages were inundated as result of a 50-foot wide breach in Shahi Canal. In Dera Ghazi Khan, water from DG Canal, supposed to protect the town from hill torrents, inundated Behari Colony, Railway Colony, Sadeeqabad, Abdulla Town, Indus Colony, Civil Hospital, district government offices, an under-construction medical college, surroundings of Gaddai, the Government Postgraduate College and residential colonies of the Atomic Energy Commission. Residents have been taking refuge at the platform of the DG Khan Railway Station. Hill torrents from Koh-e-Suleman range, which have hit DG Khan district for the first time in history, have brought destruction across the city. “The length of the torrent is reported to be around 45 miles and it is around 15 miles wide. The flood torrent has inundated a vast area of land and displaced around 0.7 million people in the area,” said Punjab Chief Minister’s Senior Adviser Zulfiqar Khosa. Thousands of displaced people are moving to safer areas and about 25,000 people have been shifted to relief camps on an emergency basis in Dera Ghazi Khan. Troops have been called in Rajanpur, Rojhan and Jampur areas of the district on the civilian administration’s plea. Six villages in Rajanpur district have also been completely washed out. Floodwater has entered scores of villages along the Indus River in Layyah, damaging standing crops across thousands of acres of land.
