High-flood torrent passes Rojhan

District Rojhan in Dera Ghazi Khan Division is under threat of going underwater with only some dykes protecting this district from destruction.  A torrent with water-flow of 1,060,000 cusecs a day went through the area on Sunday.

The flood torrent, which is headed towards Sindh, has affected land routes connecting Rojhan with the rest of the country, and the city’s population of nearly 200,000 people awaits help.

In case any dyke protecting the area is broken, it is feared Rojhan city would be inundated within minutes.

Also, the Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar highway has also been flooded near Rahim Yar Khan disconnecting land routes between Sindh and Punjab and although major areas of Rahim Yar Khan District have been saved, nearly 200 villages in the adjoining areas of Bhong, Chachran Sharif, Rukunpur, Tamaldin Wali and Khan Bela have been severely affected by floods.

Over in the Muzaffargarh district, another flood torrent has washed away most of the areas with an exception of Muzaffargarh city, Alipur, Sheher Sultan and Khangarh.

Out of sight, but still in their minds

KARACHI: As the second wave of floods threaten Sindh, some solace can be drawn from the fact that relief efforts are being made across borders and oceans.

The Muslim Students Association at Columbia University, New York is part of this struggle to help those affected thousands of miles away. Even though school is closed, students rallied to raise $15,000 (nearly Rs1.2 million) from different fund-raising activities, including going door-to-door, in Muslim communities, mosques and churches in New York city.

“This money will be donated to the great work being done by the Rural Support Programme and the Armed Forces of Pakistan, while the goods we have received will be air shipped,” Taimur T Malik, president of the Columbia Muslim Students Association told The Express Tribune via email.

Across the ocean, in London, four people, Adil, Fatima, Naz and Hammad, decided that they would hit 10 tube stations for donations and collections on Aug 19 at 8:00 am and Aug 20 the same time. The effort, aptly named ‘Tube Collections for the Pakistan floods’, will ultimately benefit the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Relief Fund. They can be contacted on facebook or at allforpakistan@gmail.com. Meanwhile on the home front, Iqra University (IU) is also stepping up its game. University management held a meeting with students to discuss relief efforts for people across the province. “We need to play our part as students,” said IU Registrar Akif Hasan. “We have a platform from where we can gather and make efforts to help those in distress.”

Fresh flood warning for Sindh, Punjab

ISLAMABAD: The meteorological department issued fresh flood warnings on Wednesday, putting parts of Punjab and Sindh on alert.

The department warned of floods in Hyderabad district, which could spread devastation further south in Sindh, and issued a “significant” flood forecast for Kalabagh and Chashma in Punjab.

The met department also said that River Indus at Chashma was likely to continue in very-high to exceptionally-high flood, ranging between 0.78 million to 0.82 cusecs on Wednesday and Thursday. At Kotri, it is likely to attain a flood level ranging between 0.6 million to 0.8 million cusecs.

Local governments in both provinces also issued warnings about more flooding in the days ahead, although Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah acknowledged that the immediate danger had passed.

Punjab officials said that more than 90 per cent of the town of Kot Addu had emptied and that flooding had cut electricity and gas production, shutting down thousands of factories.

Floods have affected 4.5m people: UN

Devastating floods have affected an estimated 4.5 million people across Pakistan, United Nations officials said on Friday, as relief workers warned that aid needs were “absolutely daunting”.

“The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates globally that 4.5 million people have been affected by the flooding,” said UN spokeswoman Elena Ponomareva, marking an increase of some 300,000 in a day.

Citing estimates from Pakistani authorities, UN relief agencies said an estimated 252,000 homes have been destroyed as relentless monsoon rains continue and flood water roll southwards through some of the poorest parts of the country. “As we’re hearing, the scale of the needs is absolutely daunting,” said Melissa Fleming, a spokeswoman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Floods continue to destroy villages and important facilities in Punjab, while people are not happy with rehabilitation efforts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Rainfall last night caused the water level in Kot Addu to rise. Thousands of people have been stranded, many of them are homeless and waiting for government aid.

Hundreds of thousands of wheat bags were ruined due to floods at the PASCO center in Kot Adu. Authorities have starting erecting protective embankments around PARCO oil refinery, which is under threat of being submerged as well.

Death toll soars past 1,000

PESHAWAR: Rescue workers and troops on Saturday scrambled to reach thousands of people marooned in their areas by the country’s worst floods in living memory, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa bearing the greatest brunt as the death toll in the province rose to 800. The nationwide figure has crossed the 1,000 mark.

Hundreds of homes and vast swathes of farmland were destroyed, with the Karakoram Highway reportedly cut off and communities isolated as monsoon rains caused flash floods and landslides. The UN reported that almost a million people had been affected by the flooding, and at least 45 bridges destroyed across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Television footage and photos shot from helicopters showed people clinging to the walls and rooftops of damaged houses as gushing waters rampaged through inundated villages.

Clutching on to their belongings and carrying their children on their shoulders, some brave souls even walked barefoot through the water to reach safety.

“The death toll from the flood-stricken areas of K-P rose to a massive 800 souls, according to some reports,” said K-P Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain, but hastened to add, “these are mere speculations based on fragments of data”.

113 people dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The death toll of those killed in floods in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa rose to 113 on Thursday.

The areas worst affected by the flash floods in Khyber Pakhthunkhwa include Shangla, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat, Tank and the North Waziristan tribal agency.

Senior Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa minister Basheer Bilour said that  over 50 bridges have been swept away.

Fifiteen bridges, 300 shops, more than 80 houses and a hotel were washed away in floods in Swat and Bahrain.

Twenty-six people have died due to rains and floods in Shangla. Lightening struck and killed nine people in Dhairy, while eight drowned in floods in the Kohistan area.

Six people were swept away in floods in Lower Dir, while two children died in Marzoi area of Shabqadar when the roof of a house caved in.