Flood emergency declared in Dadu, residents advised to move to safer spots

Dadu deputy commissioner has declared a “flood emergency” throughout the district in pursuance of flood forecast alert.

All the residents have been advised to move to safer places.

The heads of related departments of the Dadu district have been directed to remain present in respective headquarters with staff, machinery, equipment, and contingency plan.

“An intense pressure of rain water from the Western side of Taluka (KN Shah and Johi) of District Dadu triggered massive flood, breaches in Protecting I3unds and displacement of people. Apart from the breaches and rising flow of water in Suprio Bend, Flood Protecting (FP) Bend and Main Nara Valley (MNV) Drain at ditTerent locations in the western side of District Dadu has become very dangerous,” it said.

“Besides, Manchhar Lake has also attained very high level and River Indus is also not accepting desired water from Manchhar Lake. Most of the areas of District Dadu have been inundated in rain flood water.”

The flood emergency notification read, “There is danger of inundation of more areas of Taulkas i.c Mehar, KN Shah. Johi and Dadu itself are continuously increasing in torrential flood water.”

The assistant commissioners and mukhtiarkars of the Dadu district have also been directed to line up their strategies and mechanism to evacuate the population to safer places or relief camps.

Very high, above-level flooding to continue in Kabul River

The Federal Flood Commission (FFC) on Monday said that very high and above-level flooding is likely to continue in River Kabul at Nowshera during the next 24 hours.

According to the daily FFC report, River Swat is flowing in “low flood” at Chakdara, Munda Head Works, and Charsadda Road while in “normal flow condition” at Khwazakhela.

River Kabul continues to flow in “very high flood” at Nowshera since August 26.

It experienced the highest flood peak of 336,000 cusecs on August 28 however now flows are receding (today at 0900 hours it was flowing in “very high flood” with a discharge of 297,000 cusecs).

In Chashma–Taunsa–Guddu-Sukkur reaches, Indus is discharging “high flood” with “medium flood” at Kalabagh and Kotri respectively.

At Tarbela (on Indus) there is no high flood situation.

Other main rivers of the Indus River System i.e Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej continue to flow in normal flow conditions.

Tarbela dam at present is at its Maximum Conservation Level (MCL) of 1550 feet, whereas Mangla Dam is at 1184.30 feet against its MCL: 1242 feet (53.62% storage still left).

Trough of westerly wave earlier over Kashmir and adjoining areas has now moved away eastwards.

A fresh trough of westerly wave lies over northern parts of Afghanistan with a weak seasonal low continuing to prevail over western Balochistan.

Weak moist currents from the Arabian Sea are penetrating into northeastern Punjab up to 3000 feet.

The River Kabul was still experiencing very high flood Monday morning, inundating parts of Nowshera and Charsadda while a fresh deluge from the northern parts of the country entered South Punjab and Sindh. The River Indus is currently in high flood with over 500,000 cusecs of flow between Chashma in Punab and Sindh’s Hyderabad, according to the Flood Forecasting Division data captured at 6am Monday.

A very high flood of 307,000 cusecs hit Nowshera Sunday morning and by noon the water submerged the GT Road as another massive flood torrent of 130,000 cusecs from Swat entered the River Kabul near Charsadda, at the confluence of River Swat and River Kabul.

The Flood Forecasting Division reported a flow of 298,800 cusecs in River Kabul Monday morning, lower than the water level on Sunday but still classified as a ‘very high flood.’

The rising water levels sparked evacuation from the low-lying areas of Nowshera on Sunday, SAMAA TV reported.

Over 130,000 people were reportedly forced to leave their homes. Authorities have set up a relief camp at the District Headquarters Hospital in Attock.

Nowshera district administration first began evacuating low-lying areas on Friday. On Sunday the authorities sounded alert in Nowshera city, Nowshera Kalan, Banda Sheikh Ismail, and other areas.

SAMAA TV aired footage showing GT Road inundated by floodwater, though vehicles were still able to travel through it.

Earlier on Saturday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sounded an alarm for a ‘high’ to ‘very high and above’ flood in the River Kabul at Nowshera over the next 24 hours, with the River Indus at Kalabagh set to attain ‘high to very high’ flood over the next 48 hours and directed to evacuate people from flood-prone areas with the country having already declared a national emergency and acute humanitarian crisis.

Sindh, South Punjab face fresh deluge

A fresh deluge from northern parts of the country has entered South Punjab and Sindh.

The River Indus at Chashma, Taunsa, Guddu and Sukkur has attained a high flooding level of over 500,000 cusecs.

Sunday afternoon, Kalabagh recorded a 425,000 cusecs flow while the water level increased to 500,000 cusecs at Taunsa. It swelled to 567,083 cusecs by Monday morning.

At Guddo flow was recorded at 500,944 and at Sukkur 530,750 cusecs.

A high flood situation is not seen in Rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej, according to NDMA.

More deaths

The floods have affected 110 of 160 districts of the country, according to the NDMA. This means that more than half of the country is currently affected by the floods impacting one in five Pakistanis.

At least 28 people lost their lives to floods in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1061 since June 14, the NDMA reported on Monday.

Data collected by SAMAA Investigation Unit (SIU) put the death toll at above 1,100 until Saturday.

Moreover, some four million acres of farmland with standing crops have been inundated, drowning precious cash and subsistence crops.

Some 2 million livestock heads are also feared to have been lost.

More than five million people are in need of immediate, special assistance, food, shelter and rescue.

Worst flood of the decade

Government officials are terming this year’s (2022) floods as the deadliest in the country’s history, surpassing even the damage and scale of the 2010 floods and 2005 earthquakes.

In 2010, the country faced its worst ever flood. A post-flood assessment report noted that at least 1,700 lives were lost, and some 20 million people were impacted.

Around 20% of Pakistan’s land area was affected, and some 2 million hectares of standing crops were damaged or lost. In addition, around 1.2 million heads of livestock were also lost.

Some 1.1 million houses were also destroyed, along with hundreds of bridges and hundreds of kilometers of road.

The damage caused by the floods was estimated to be worth around Rs855 billion. At the same time, an estimated Rs578 billion were required for reconstruction activities.

SAMAA TV’s Investigation Unit (SIU) gathered official figures and data from over 50 cities, which showed shocking figures of deaths, destruction, damage and despair.

The latest reports on rains and floods shared by the NDMA, the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMA) and district administrations with SAMAA TV showed that those who have lost their lives included some 370 children and 211 women.

Most deaths and injuries were reported in Sindh, with 351 deaths and 1,126 injuries.

It was followed by Balochistan where local administration said some 273 deaths occurred and 302 people were left injured.

Meanwhile, 235 deaths were reported, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 451 people were injured.

In Punjab, local officials reported 203 deaths while 305 people were injured.

In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, approximately 47 people perished, while floods caused injury to over 45 people. Some 19 deaths were reported in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) due to heavy rains and floods, while around a dozen people were injured.

Damages to communication systems & houses

Preliminary figures collected by SIU through multiple sources across Pakistan, around 3,600 kilometers of roads and communication systems were either partially or completely damaged.

Moreover, some 356 small and large bridges, 1,142 shops and 2 million houses were damaged.

Agriculture crops & livestock

Top officials of NDMA whom SAMAA TV spoke to expressed worry over the scale of destruction, suggesting that it may be larger than previously believed.

Preliminary findings suggest that multiple seasonal crops planted over 4 million acres have been destroyed due to heavy rains, which are likely to cause a 29% reduction in agricultural production this year.

Initial findings by government officials suggest:

Nearly 2 million livestock heads have perished putting the country’s food security at risk.

Rough estimates of officials further suggested that agriculture damage in this year’s floods and rains will cross the Rs800 billion mark set by the 2010 floods.

AJK flood

In AJK, some 36 shops and 501 houses have been either partially or completely destroyed, according to initial figures.

Moreover, some 801 livestock heads perished while over a hundred guesthouses, water mills, private powerhouses, irrigation channels, vehicles and hydropower stations were damaged.

The rains also damaged two mosques, five bridges and a grid station.

Balochistan Flood

Pakistan’s largest province, Balochistan, remains the worst hit by floods.

Around a dozen small dams were damaged by rains and floods.

Further, around 1,110 kilometers of roads and 78 bridges were damaged. Some 22 powerhouses and 500 irrigation channels were also damaged.

Some 29,818 houses were also damaged by the rains and floods in the province. Of these, 8,423 houses were completely destroyed, while 21,325 houses were partially damaged.

A million livestock heads also perished, according to initial data collected by district authorities in the province.

As per PDMA and district committee reports, the death toll in the recent monsoon rains and floods in the province has risen to 273 while 302 people were injured.

Most of the deaths were reported from Quetta, Bolan, Kech, Zhob, Dukki, Khuzdar, Kohlu, Mastung, Harnai, Qila Saifullah, Sibi and other districts.

Situation in Gilgit Baltistan

In GB, rains and floods have so far damaged some 11 kilometres of roads while sweeping away 53 small bridges and 740 houses.

Officials estimated that some 70 houses were destroyed in Gilgit, 60 in Skardu, 101 in Diamer, 78 in Ghizer, 78 in Ghanche, 14 in Hunza and 19 in Nagar.

Moreover, agricultural land spread over 3,900 acres was also affected.

With fruits and orchards a major source of food and revenue in the region, some 173 fruit trees were lost in the region, including 15 in Gilgit, 20 in Skardu, 30 each in Diamer and Ghizer, 35 in Ghanche, five in Hunza, 25 in Nagar, five in Kharmang, six in Shigar, and two in Astore.

Similarly, 173 non-fruit trees were reported in Gilgit, Skardu, Diamer and Ghizer, 15 in Ghanche, five in Hunza, 25 in Nagar, five in Kharmang, four in Shigar, and two in Astore were reported, according to official figures.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Floods

Near non-stop monsoon rains and resultant floods have caused severe damage in the province. According to primary findings, some 235 people lost their lives while 451 people were injured.

This included 22 people in Mansehra, 24 in Swat, 20 in DI Khan, five in Shangla, three in Lower Dir and one in Lakki Marwat. In addition, official figures revealed that South Waziristan suffered 14 casualties in rains, and 13 people were killed due to floods and roof collapse incidents in Lower Kohistan.

Moreover, devastating rains and floods have damaged around 234-kilometer of mountainous road networks, 37 bridges, and 326,897 houses in KP.

The main road between Madyan and Kalam was partially damaged, disconnecting the Kalam valley from the rest of the district.

The worst affected region of the province was the historic Swat valley, where many hotels, markets and precious buildings were destroyed on Friday.

As many as 7,742 livestock heads have also perished.

Several hydropower projects and water reservoirs were severely damaged in KP, where most of the country’s hydel power is generated.

This included the 17 megawatts (MW) Ranolia hydropower plant in the Kohistan district and the 36MW Daral Khor hydropower plant in the Swat district.

Heavy floods also impacted the under-construction 800 megawatts Mohmand dam hydropower project with videos from the region showing entire turbines being pushed out of their housing by the raging flood waters.

The Munda Headworks Bridge in the Mohmand district was also partially damaged.

Sindh flood situation

Sindh has reported the most deaths and injuries, with a total of 341 deaths, including 118 children and 49 women. At least 1,126 people were also injured.

Most deaths were reported in Khairpur, where 49 people died due to rains and floods. It was followed by Naushahro Feroze, which reported 36 deaths, Larkana with 31 deaths and 26 people lost their lives in Dadu and Shaheed Benazirabad each.

Rains and floods also damaged 2,400-kilometer roads, 422 schools, 234 culverts, 71 bridges, 1,032 shops and 45,000 watersheds in Sindh.

Some 1.4 million people were either rendered homeless. Of this, 383,000 were in Kashmore, followed by Shaheed Benazirabad, where 262,001 people went homeless.

In Nowshero Feroze, some 144,120 people were forced to relocate, according to official data.

More than 86,110 houses were damaged in Kashmore.

Due to floods, 2.9 million acres of crops have been affected in the province, according to official figures.

Of this, 356,582 acres of crops were destroyed in Khairpur, 0.3 million acres in Ghotki, 0.3 million acres in Sanghar and 0.25 million acres of crops were destroyed in the province.

Some 84,783 livestock heads were lost in Kashmore and another 8,000 livestock in Khairpur.