Huge flash floods enter Sindh

LAHORE: A huge flash flood has entered Sindh, submerging 95 percent of the low lying areas while a high flood was recorded in River Indus at Guddu and Sukkur barrages on Tuesday. However, the river was in medium flood at Tarbela, Chashma and Taunsa, while flash flood warnings for the next three days were issued in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts.
Bodies of four children, who drowned in floodwater in different cities of the southern Punjab, have been recovered, Rescue 1122 sources said.Also, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), 81 people have died and 45 others injured so far in rain and flash flood related incidents. Over 1,921 houses have been damaged and 793 villages and 294,425 persons affected across the country so far.
Rescue sources said Sakina Bibi, 4, drowned in Rahim Yar Khan and Samina Bibi, 5, daughter of Jamil Ahmed, drowned in village Mohana in Chachran Sharif.A minor boy, Hadi Hassan, in Layyah and Muhammad Tayyab, 3, in Karor Lal Eisan, also drowned in floodwater. Rescue sources also confirmed the death of two minor children in the district while death of another child was confirmed by DPO Rahim Yar Khan.
The Falah-e-Insaniyiat Foundation in-charge, Dr Rana Attaur Rehman, said they had found three bodies in Kot Mithan, Layyah and Rojhan Mazari, who had drowned.According to NDMA’s consolidated figures of national losses and damages, eight people have been killed in Balochistan and eight others suffered injuries, and 118 houses were damaged.
Thirty-eight people died and 11 others were injured and 493 houses were damaged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while 11 people died and 22 were injured with 479 houses damaged, 375 villages and 263,044 people were affected in the Punjab.
As many as 244 villages were damaged and 31,381 people were affected in Sindh; 19 persons were killed, two were injured, 178 houses were damaged and seven villages were affected in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while five people were killed, two injured, 653 houses damaged and 167 villages were affected in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Flood Forecasting Division, Lahore, observed that River Indus at Taunsa is likely to attain a high flood level ranging between 540,000 cusecs to 580,000 cusecs during the next 72 hours.
According to the Meteorological Dept, the Indus at Kalabagh is likely to attain a high flood level ranging between 550,000 cusecs to 600,000 cusecs during the next 24 hours.The Met Office has predicted widespread rains in parts of the Punjab, including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, DG Khan and Multan divisions during the next 24 hours.
The Sindh Irrigation Department declared a high-level flood at Guddu and Sukkur barrages and the river is also in high flood at Chashma.The Pakistan Army has shifted 30 tourists and patients stranded in Chitral due to rains and floods to Peshawar, said the ISPR.
In view of the likely flood devastation, the Pakistan Navy has put its field commands at high alert to generate swift response against the emergent flood situation in various parts of Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab.