Major flood in Attabad less likely, say officials

GILGIT: Officials have downplayed the possibility of a major flood occurring in Attabad in the next three days, as outflow from the ‘landslide lake’ has increased steadily.

“There is no chance of a flood occurring in the next three days as the erosion of the spillway is slow,” said district administrator Hunza,  Zamir Abbas on Monday. “But that doesn’t mean that the lake will never breach its banks,” he said, adding, that the danger was still very real and officials were aware of all possibilities.

The slow discharge of lake water from the spillway has overturned expert’s predictions that the area would be flooded 24 hours after the water reached the spillway.

Water begins flowing from Attabad lake

KARIMABAD, Pakistan: Water began seeping out from a lake formed by a landslide in north Pakistan into a spillway on Saturday, officials said, who added that the next one or two days are critical to avoid catastrophic flooding.

If the spillway doesn’t contain the water and the landslide dam bursts, authorities fear the heavy flooding could wash away many villages, bridges and roads, affecting up to 50,000 people.

“At this point, the water flow is very smooth but it’s eroding the spillway, widening it,” Gilgit-Baltistan’s Commissioner, Asif Bilal Lodhi, told Reuters by telephone.