• Schools and health facilities are closed as infrastructure in southern Punjab is badly damaged.
LAHORE / LOWER DIR / SWAT: Heavy rains and floods claim eight lives, including six pupils, in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday as various parts of the country continued to receive heavy rains.
Least six children died when they were washed away by the flood, and nine others people were injured in rain related incidents like continuous heavy rains caused flood in Upper Dir and Swat Districts, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa confirmed.
Similarly, the 1122 Punjab Rescue Service confirmed two deaths from mountain streams; one in Dera Ghazi Khan and one in Rajanpur. The torrents have also took their on infrastructure of schools, health facilities, roads, power lines and irrigation canals.
Read: Rain disaster: the tragedy is that leaders are focusing on settlement of political scores even as the human catastrophe unfolds
thousands of flood- moved people stuck on banks of river and along the Indus Highway, without any shelter in rain. Meanwhile, waist-deep water is still standing in and around the places where they live.
Of death in Punjab brought death losses in provinces up to 38 during last two weeks.
flood in Swat, Lower Dir
Five schoolchildren drowned in Upper Dir in flooded stream at Kasai Shahikote in jurisdiction of Barawala police station.
Rescuers said that children we on them way back from school when they were swept away by the churning water. Among the victims were son and daughter of one Syed Aman, son and daughter of Zakir and the unidentified child. Rescuers told about it. dead body of four of in children we found later, when the water receded, and the search for the fifth child is still ongoing.
Previously niece of one Haji Rahim Gul drowned in stream in Zangian village of Samarbakh. After a frantic effort, the locals managed to pull out body from the stream.
Also double room house collapsed due to heavy rains in Gandhigar area of Top dir. However, the invaders remained unharmed.
In addition, hundreds of pupils who caught in flash floods in Mingora had to be saved by local residents, rescue service 1122 and civilians. defense teams.
Malakand Department Commissioner Shaukat Ali Yousufzai said all departments are actively involved in relief activities. “Relief measures were launched after the water subsided and in in this regard, all resources are used in light of orders of Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmoud Khan,” he said, adding that he himself controls all preparations.
Damage to infrastructure
big band of DG Khan was flooded with water, which led to a large-scale power supply interruptions. loss for power the transmission infrastructure here is huge, and the statistics show that 640 transformers, 1575 single phase meters and 145 three phase meters were damaged in in area during recent heavy rains.
This was told by the chief engineer of MEPCO (Dera Ghazi Khan) Muhammad Hasnain Shakil. Dawn what out of 21 divisions of Mepko circle, districts in Fort Munro, Rozhan and Tubi Kaisrani were completely flooded, while the areas of Vakhova and Choti were under water by 75 percent and about half of Shadan Laund, Dajjal, Rajanpur, Shah Sadr Din and Quetta Road areas were flooded.
An official said Dawn that the railroad track from Towns Dam to Rozhan also was damaged.
Irrigation department infrastructure also was bad hit strong waters of mountain streams in both counties. Roads and dozens of a link of bridges was also was washed away. Barty Road and Townsa Musahel Road remain closed and the N55 Indus motorway is closed. in bad shape after the flood and in need of immediate repair. Total as many as 60 roads in both areas were washed away.
The Chief Executive Officer for Education, Zulfiqar Mulgani, spoke separately. Dawn that 86 schools were hit flood waters and closed in Dera Ghazi Khan area, while official from Rajanpur claimed that 60 pcs. of schools in the area was flooded and the rest turned into relief camps.
Edition: rain disaster
Dr. Abdul Karim, Chief Executive Officer for Health, announced this. Dawn that 30 medical institutions, including basic first-aid posts and rural clinics were hit hard by rainstorms and mountain streams in Dera Ghazi Khan. In Rajanpur, he said, 60% of health infrastructure has been hit floods.
In addition, a large stock of wheat stored in the food department in Fazilpour and Shahdan Lound were destroyed.
Relief activities
Punjab government started providing of essentials, including food and medicine in flood hit areas of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts.
However, local residents complained that while they saw vehicles transporting food and shelter, the bureaucracy distributed items in their preferred areas.
In Lahore, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi presided. over A meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Disaster Management is being held at the Chief Minister’s Office, where relief activities related to flood affected areas in Rajanpur, Townesa and Dera Ghazi Khan were hit review.
On the pictures: heavy rains flood Hyderabad, stop life
CM sent Chief Secretary Kamran Afzal to visit flood affected areas immediately and further instructed him to oversee relief activities for in flood affects.
He also ordered to expedite rescue and relief operations and all institutions should help in flood hit population.
This was reported by an employee of the rescue service 1122. Dawn that relief activities have been launched on On Wednesday, adding that they provided the district state administration with boats to transport bags. of food and medicine.
He said he saw any NGOs providing help to flood victims in Rajanpur.
Meanwhile, Deputy General Manager Khan Anwar Baryar on Wednesday ordered to clear the roads of land slide and bridge repair.
work on restoration of the Indian Highway was also started and work will be completed by August 27th.
Tariq Said Birmani in DG Khan, Malik Tahsin Raza in Muzaffargarh and Muhammad Irfan Mughal in DI. Khan also contributed to this report
Published in Dawn, August 25, 2022
