The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned of flash floods in parts of Balochistan and Punjab for the next 24-72 hours due to incessant rains that flooded villages and washed away roads in the provinces.
The NDMA has issued a list of guidelines for city/district administrations to ensure contingency traffic plans for areas vulnerable to flooding in urban centers. The PDMAs of Balochistan and Punjab have been instructed to undertake public awareness for risk reduction and ensure prompt response in vulnerable areas.
In Balochistan, three people, including a child, were killed in incidents of roof collapse and lightning in parts of the province in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, at least 200 houses were damaged in the province.
The PDMA added that the roads connecting Balochistan with the rest of the country had been restored.
In Punjab, the Punjab PDMA has issued a flood alert after water levels continued to rise in the Indus, Ravi and Sutlej rivers.
Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited villages in Chiniot and inspected the evacuation efforts made by the authorities.
Talking to the media, he said 50 villages in the area had been affected and assured that the government was deploying efforts to move the residents to safer locations.
The NDMA has urged residents in affected areas to take precautions and to stay updated on the latest weather forecasts. The authority has also advised people to avoid traveling to areas that are prone to flooding and to be prepared to evacuate if necessary.
The government has also deployed rescue teams and resources to the affected areas to help with the relief effort. The authorities are working to evacuate people from affected areas and to provide them with food, water and shelter.
Meanwhile, rain and thundershowers with isolated heavy falls are predicted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Galiyat, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Kurram, Lakki Marwat, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Karak and Waziristan.
The NDMA said heavy falls are also predicted in Punjab’s Murree, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Sheikhupura, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Kasur, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Sahiwal, Bahawalnagar and Okara.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, heavy showers are expected in Diamer, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, Ghanche and Shigar. A similar forecast was also issued for Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Neelum, Muzaffarabad, Poonch, Hattian, Bagh, Haveli, Sudhnoti, Kotli, Bhimber and Mirpur.
“Flows in rivers and streams of Gilgit-Baltistan are likely to increase and high probability/risk of Glof incidents in vulnerable mountain valleys,” the authority said.
