Roundup: 136 killed in flash flood in Pakistan
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E-mail Xinhua, September 13, 2012
Roundup: 136 killed in flash flood in Pakistan
by Misbah Saba Malik
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- At least 136 people were killed and 182 others were injured in flood triggered by heavy rains across Pakistan over the last 22 days, Pakistan National Disaster Management Authority said on Wednesday.
The disastrous late monsoon rains started on August 22 and continued lashing various areas of the country till date. Met office has said that the heavy downpour would stop on September 13.
Southern province of Sindh was the worst hit area where 33 people were killed and 26 others got injured in various rain- related accidents. Heavy rains lashed almost every district of Sindh but upper part of the province was seriously affected.
Rain water entered houses in low lying areas of the province. Railway and road traffic was also affected as most of the roads and railway tracks were submerged under water.
Rains wreaked havoc in Shikarpur district where at least 15 people were killed and over 70 others got injured. The flood water also swept away dozens of houses and hundreds of people became homeless.
An emergency was declared in the province by Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on September 10 and a rain emergency cell was formed to carry out rescue and relief operation and to bring the situation under control.
At least 33 people were killed, 26 others got injured and 4,274 houses were destroyed in the country's northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The floodwater swept away over 100 cattle heads and destroyed several bridges and highways.
Nowshera and Mansehra districts of the province were badly affected where an estimated 3,743 houses were destroyed on August 22 during a continuous 144 millimeter rainfall.
Northeast area of Pakistan Administered Kashmir received heavy rainfall from August 22 to 27, during which at least 18 people were killed, 16 were injured and 1,243 houses were destroyed in the area. The most fatal accident took place on August 28 when a passenger van was washed away by flood water in Kashmir, killing at least nine people and injuring five others.
The second spell of rains started on September 5 in Kashmir which killed 13 people and injured 19 others. On September 5, at least 13 people were washed away by flash flood in Machia Nullah area of Kashmir.
In eastern Punjab province, heavy downpour killed at least 18 people and injured 14 others. On Wednesday, flood water devoured 300 houses in Rajan Pur area and destroyed thousands of hectares of standing crops.
A canal in district Dera Ghazi khan of south Punjab breached due to massive downpours on Sunday in which several areas were inundated by water and dozens of people became homeless. Army had been called in to carry out the rescue and relief work and to mend the breach in the canal.
Chief Minister of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif announced an aid of around 5,263 U.S. dollars for the relatives of the people who lost their lives in the flood.
In southwest province of Balochistan at least 14 people were killed and 12 others got injured in torrential rains. A total of 2, 791 were also destroyed by the heavy rains.
The southeast part of the province including provincial capital of Quetta was badly hit by the rains. On Wednesday, at least six paramilitary personnel were washed away by flash flood in Dera Murad Jamali area, rescue workers later retrieved one body while five others are still missing.
Jafarabad district was the worst hit area where at least 70 percent of the cultivated land went wasted and 50 percent of the residential area was inundated by flood water.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Parvez Ashraf directed the Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other concerned departments to speed up the rescue and relief work, and provide food and shelter to the homeless people.
The NDMA officials said that that NDMA was prepared to provide aid to 29 million people, and the federal government, on the direction of the president also provided 5,000 additional tents for the emergency use.
Monsoon rains hit Pakistan every year in June and they usually start to retreat during the first week of September.
The most destructive flood hit the country in 2010 that hit parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh. The flood swept away 20 percent of the land, killed 1,540 people and injured 2,088. According to an UN report, 557,226 houses had been destroyed, and over 6 million people had been displaced in the flood.
In 2011, flood water killed an estimated 270 civilians in southern Sindh province of the country. At least 5.3 million people were displaced and 1.2 million houses were destroyed. Enditem
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