Residents of Swat warn of high floods

Web Desk (LTN NEWS): After the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warned of “high to very high floods” in the Swat River, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has declared a rain emergency in the Swat district until August 30. This is happening right away.

The decision was made based on what the National Disaster Management Authority said should be done (NDMA).

In a notice sent out on Friday, KP’s Provincial Emergency Operations Centre said that water flows in the River Swat at Khawazakhela point and its tributaries/nullahs had reached high to very high flood levels of 227,899 cusecs, which “may lead to a dangerous situation for communities living nearby.”

It has told the deputy commissioners of Swat, Lower Dir, Malakand, Mohmand, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, and Peshawar to find vulnerable spots and communities at risk as soon as possible so they can come up with ways to protect them and make them safer.

“Maintain a higher level of alert and watch how the situation changes to cut down on reaction and response times,” the center said, calling on people who live near rivers to be aware of the higher water flows.

“Make announcements so that people who are at risk can get out of low-lying or flood-prone areas on time, according to evacuation plans,” it said.

The PDMA also told the authorities to move cattle out of areas that could flood and stop vehicles from going there.
This year’s monsoon rains have been terrible for the country. Yesterday, flash floods in Shangla and Kohistan caused a lot of damage. Parts of the Karakoram Highway, link roads, suspension bridges, houses, hospitals, schools, mini power stations, and water mills were all washed away.

At least three people drowned today in the River Indus near the Shangla neighborhood of Bisham. Abbas Khan, the station house officer for the area, says that two other men from the Shang area were also washed away by the floods.

Ijaz Ahmad, who works for the Shangla health department, told that floods in the Kana River had washed away a rural health center in the Karora area.

Shamsul Hadi, a local, said that three houses and a mosque were swept away by the floods. He also said that all of the roads and bridges leading to Ranolia and Dubair had been destroyed.

In Shangla, both the Alpuri-Puran and Karora-Kana roads were damaged in several places, which caused residents to feel scared because they couldn’t leave their homes.

All public and private schools in the area have also been closed until further notice.

In a statement released today, the Frontier Works Organisation said that floods had washed away the Karakoram Highway at Zaidkarh Dassua and that landslides had blocked it in several places.