Web Desk (LTN NEWS): On Sunday, nine more people died in accidents caused by the rain in Balochistan, adding to the number of deaths and damage. In response to a new warning about rain and flash floods, the provincial government shut down all schools.
Since major highways still couldn’t get to the province, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa to send helicopters to help people who were stuck because roads and highways were washed away.
Sunday, it rained a lot in Quetta, which led to flooding in Pashtoonabad, Hazara Town, Qadirand, Aminabd, Nawan Killi, Killi Qambrani, and Sariab, where water got into a few homes. At one point, hill torrents broke through the Karkhasa Dam near Quetta, flooding several areas near Western Bypass.
The Quetta Commissioner, Sohailur Rehman Baloch, said that the irrigation department opened the dam’s spillway after it was filled to its maximum capacity.
More rain and flash flooding are expected, so the PM asks the army chief for helicopters to speed up relief efforts.
Because more rain and flooding are expected, the government of Balochistan has shut down all schools for a week. The provincial government said in a notice that all public and private schools, colleges, and other places of education would be closed from August 22 to 27.
NDMA had issued a new warning about flash floods in the eastern parts of Balochistan. This meant that more areas were likely to get flooded.
According to the NDMA advisory, the Flood Forecasting Division predicts that rivers and nullahs in eastern Balochistan will have moderate flash flooding in the next 24 hours, followed by heavy flooding.
The report also said that the Kabul River at Nowshera and the Indus River would have “medium to high-level flooding” until Monday (today).
Advice from the NHA for travelers
Major highways in Balochistan were still flooded, so the National Highway Authority (NHA) told people not to drive on these roads. The NHA spokesperson sent out an alert saying that the Karachi-Quetta National Highway (N-25) was closed to all traffic because the Linda Bridge at Lasbela had been destroyed by flash floods.
Ratodero-Gwadar Motorway (M-8) was also shut down at Khuzdar’s Wangu Hills. From Zhob-Dhanasar sentient, traffic was stopped on the Dera Ismail Khan-Quetta National Highway (N-50), and the Qilla Saifullah-Multan National Highway (N-70) was shut down at Fort Munro.
Balochistan was still cut off from the rest of the country by rail a week after major rail lines were washed away.
Official sources told that a train that was supposed to go from Quetta to Karachi had to be canceled because the track was not clear because of floodwater. The track was also flooded in some parts of Sindh.
PM calls COAS and NDMA chairman
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that PM Shehbaz called the army chief and the head of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lt. Gen. Akhtar Nawaz, on Sunday to talk about rescue, relief, and rebuilding efforts in flood-hit areas.
During the phone call, the prime minister and the army chief talked about the floods and the work being done to help rebuild, especially in Sindh. The statement also said that the prime minister was glad that the army helped with rescue and relief operations.
The head of the NDMA told the prime minister about the latest flood situation and how the authority is helping people in Sindh and Balochistan.
The prime minister also told the Benazir Income Support Programme to give the people of Sindh who were hurt by the floods money right away.
Humanitarian assistance
A statement from the PAF spokesperson said that the Pakistan Air Force is also helping the local government by giving “humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support” to the people who are stuck in Balochistan and Sindh.
Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu had told the Emergency Response teams of the PAF to give food to the people, the statement said.
