Departments put on alert to deal with flood threat

LAHORE:Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman has directed all the relevant provincial departments to remain alert to deal with the threat of possible floods and urban flooding due to monsoon rains.

He gave this direction while presiding over a video link meeting of deputy commissioners at the Civil Secretariat. The meeting reviewed the preparedness to deal with the flood threat and urban flooding due to monsoon rains.

The chief secretary ordered the officers to make all arrangements to cope with the possible floods. He said that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) should ensure adequate availability of tents and ration bags in the affected areas in case of emergency. He said that drains and sewerage lines must be cleaned regularly, special measures should be taken for drainage from low-lying areas, and all machinery and dewatering pumps should be kept functional. He mentioned that implementation of flood emergency plan is the responsibility of the district administration. He asked the Health Department to ensure the availability of medicines, and vaccines in hospitals and health centres as the stagnant water in the flood-hit areas may cause an outbreak of diseases. The chief secretary directed the deputy commissioners to inspect the river embankments along with the officials of the Irrigation Department. The PDMA director general gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. He said that weather conditions and flow of water in the rivers were being monitored round the clock while mock exercises were completed in all districts in collaboration with the departments concerned and tents, boats, life jackets and dewatering pumps were provided as per the requirement. The senior members board of revenue, secretaries of local government, health and related departments attended the meeting while all DCs participated through a video link.

Scattered rain forecast

Hot, humid and partly cloudy weather was recorded in the City here on Wednesday while Met office predicted similar weather conditions with chances of scattered rain during the next 24 hours.

Met officials said strong monsoon currents from Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal were likely to penetrate upper areas while a westerly wave was also likely to approach upper parts of the country today (Thursday). They predicted that rain-wind/thundershower (with few heavy falls) was expected in Kashmir, northeast Punjab, Pothohar region, Islamabad and upper Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa while rain-wind/thundershower was also likely at isolated places in south Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, central Punjab and northeast Balochistan.

Rainfall was recorded at several cities, including Kasur, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Nagarparkar and Buner. Wednesday’s maximum temperature was recorded at Nokkundi where mercury reached 48°C, while in Lahore, it was 39.0°C and minimum was 27.0°C.