Govt steps up rescue, relief efforts as ravages of flood continue
■ NDMA SAYS ANOTHER 119 People DEAD with Flood AFFECTED 15PC of TOTAL POPULATION ■ Flood HIT 110 DISTRICTS of which 72 DISTRICTS DECLARED AS CALAMITY HIT
the Federal government sped up the rescue and relief operations in floodaffected areas across the country, while stranded people were also being shifted to the camps and safer places on Sunday.
Relief camps were being established across all calamity-hit areas of the country, whereas food, medical aid and other relief items were being provided to affected people in the camps.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority and other relevant stakeholders continued distributing tents among the affected people.
Besides provincial departments and Rescue 1122, officials of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), National highway Authority (NHA), troops of Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force and Frontier Corps expedited rescue and rehabilitation operations in the flood-hit areas, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the worst-affected Balochistan.
Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi reinforced the Government of Pakistan’s appeal for international assistance and relief to support the flood affectees.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif announced a grant of Rs10 billion for Balochistan province to cope with the situation and assist the flood victims in the aftermath of recent heavy rainfall and floods.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb has said that two aircraft from Turkiye carrying relief goods would arrive in Karachi on Monday (today).
“The Consul General of Turkiye in Karachi will hand over the relief goods to the Pakistani authorities at the airport tomorrow morning,” she said in a series of tweets.
Marriyum Aurangzeb also said that fifteen more planeloads of relief goods from the united Arab emirates (uae) would arrive in Pakistan in the coming days.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa made a visit to flood-hit areas of Sindh and also interacted with ground troops busy in relief activities.
The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that Pakistan Army had also established 212 Relief Collection points to support flood affectees.
The Pakistan Army conducted an aerial relief operation in Rajanpur District and provided aid by distributing ration bags, whereas tents were provided to the affectees. The Pakistan Army Aviation Pilots in an extremely dangerous and challenging situation rescued a stranded individual surrounded in flood in Kohistan. An emergency call was made by Kohistan administration for rescue, said the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a news release.
The rescue, relief and rehabilitation operation by Pakistan Air Force was also underway at brisk pace in flood affected areas of Sindh, Balochistan and South Punjab. However, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has disbursed over six billion rupees among 255,946 families under the Flood Relief Cash Assistance initiative.
On special Instructions of Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety/ Chairperson BISP Ms. Shazia Marri and with special coordination of State Bank of Pakistan, BISP’S partner banks payment centers are kept open on Sunday(holiday) for the smooth disbursement of payment to flood affectees in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As per Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) discussion over twitter space, millions of people hit by the worst floods in Pakistan’s history of six decades need huge humanitarian aid in terms of food and non-food items, tents, toilets, hygiene kits, sanitary pads, and cash for quick response, rescue and recovery. Pakistan also needs trained humanitarian workers with global expertise to bring people out of trauma and flood waters and help them rebuild, it added.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Communications Maulana Asad Mehmood has visited several flood affected areas and distributed about 2,000 food packages among the flood victims
Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Chaudhary Tariq Bashir Cheema appealed to all the philanthropists at home and abroad to step forward and help the government for rehabilitation of flood victims.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) also appealed that the people should donate safe drinking water and shelters which are urgently required for flood survivors and assured that all possible assistance was being provided to the flood victims. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has established a relief camp for floodvictims in district Charsadda and urged the people to participate in post-flood welfare activities throughout the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A plane carrying first batch of relief assistance from the United Arab Emirates, for the flood affectees of Pakistan, arrived here on Sunday.
The relief goods are sent by the UAE leadership upon an appeal of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
The World Health Organization has also dispatched tents, medicines and other items for the flood affectees.
French President Emmanuel Macron while expressing solidarity with the flood victims of Pakistan said that his country was ready to provide help. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Sunday said that Telenor, Zong, and Ufone and all internet services have been restored in Quetta city. “Efforts are underway to restore the services in other flood-hit areas, PTA added”.
Commissioner Benazirabad Division, Rasheed Ahmed Zardari has imposed Section 144 and barred giving cut to all canals and saline drains and flowing rain water to city population.
AC Jatoe Shoaib Bosan on Sunday said that low lying areas of tehsil Jatoe along bank of River Indus have been vacated as precautionary measure against possible flood threat. The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has released an additional fund of Rs.2.5 billion for provision of relief to the flood affected people of the province.
As besides colossal humans and material losses, the devastative floods have brought havoc to communication infrastructure including roads and bridges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where several upper areas of Swat and Dir districts were cut off from rest of the country, hampering relief operations.
All educational institutions including schools and colleges (both public and private sector) in district will
The River Kabul was experiencing a high flood with 307,000 cusecs of water flowing at Nowshera since Sunday morning and by noon the water submerged GT Road, while another massive flood torrent was heading towards the district from Swat Valley.
Nowshera district administration, which first evacuated low-lying areas on Friday, said that a new flood wave could with a magnitude of up to 130,000 cusecs was expected in the area. The flood torrent has already arrived at Charsadda – around 35 kilometers upstream from Nowshera where River Swat merges into River Kabul.
The authorities have sounded alert in Nowshera city, Nowshera Kalan, Banda Sheikh Ismail, and other areas.
Earlier on Saturday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) sounded an alarm for a ‘high’ to ‘very high and above’ flood in the River Kabul at Nowshera over the next 24 hours, with the River Indus at Kalabagh set to attain ‘high to very high’ flood over the next 48 hours and directed to evacuate people from flood-prone areas with the country having already declared a national emergency and acute humanitarian crisis.
Due to flood torrents, water level at Kalabagh, Taunsa, Guddu and Sukkur in Sindh is also on the rise. The NDMA warned that River Indus at Kalabagh and Chashma was likely to attain a high to very high flooding level.
By Sunday afternoon, Kalabagh recorded a 425,000 cusecs flow while water level had increased to 500,000 cusecs at Taunsa. A high flood situation is not expected in Rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej, according to NDMA.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecasted mostly dry weather over most parts of the country. Still, isolated thunderstorms and rain is expected over the upper catchments of all major rivers and in northeast Balochistan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Lahore divisions. Next 48 hours crucial for ID Khan, Tank and other areas
Commissioner Dera Ismail Khan Division, Amir Afaq on Sunday said the next 48 hours were very crucial in view the passage of a torrent having 600,000 to 700,000 cusecs water through Indus River. He stated this while chairing a meeting in his office regarding the flood situation, rescue and relief activities, measures taken in this regard, especially arrangements related to 6 to 7 lac cusecs of water passing through Indus River.
The meeting was attended by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Faisal Amin Gandapur, former Federal Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Regional Police Officer Shaukat Abbas, Station Commander Brig Muhammad Rashid, MPA Ahmed Karim Kundi, Deputy Commissioner Nasrullah Khan, Additional Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Wazir, SE Irregation, District Police Officer Najmul Hasnain Liaquat, District Health Officer, District Emergency Officer Rescue 1122 Kamal Shah, Assistant Commissioners, TMOS, WSSC, District Director Live stock, Project Director Gomal Zam Dam and representatives of other relevant departments. During the meeting, the commissioner directed for increasing the number of relief camps immediately as the number of victims was high. All the facilities including food, drinking water and medical should be ensured at these camps. He directed the WSSC to remove the obstructions in the flow of drainage immediately.
Addressing the meeting, Provincial Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Faisal Amin Gandapur said that all the expenses of relief activities including provision of shelter would be provided by the provincial government, adding that a blank check has been received from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan for the purpose.
800,000 CUSECS FLOODWATER moving TOWARDS GUDDU Barrage:
The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) has said 800,000 cusecs of floodwater is moving towards Guddu Barrage from Rajanpur in River Indus. The administration is on high-alert following the passage of 800,000 cusecs of water from Rajanpur. The people living at the embankments and low-lying areas near Indus River have been asked to leave their houses and shift in camps.