Floods destroy houses, crops & affect 0.2m in Charsadda

CHARSADDA/NOWSHERA: The floods continued to devastate a vast swath of the area, affecting over 0.2 million people and destroying houses and other structures, crops and fruit orchards in Charsadda district on the second day on Saturday.

The floods created over 300 feet of breach in the Munda Headworks, causing flash flooding in the Jindi River that flows through the district and the gushing water washed away everything that came in its way.

The flooding submerged a vast area, including houses and crops in various places of the district.

The people residing along the banks of the rivers, seasonal streams and nullahs have already started shifting to safer places.

The floodwater inundated thousands of houses, markets, shops and damaged infrastructure besides destroying crops, vegetable and fruit orchards.

Temporary shelters were established at the government buildings, including schools and colleges to accommodate the flood affectees.

The provincial government and the district administration have already directed the people residing along the banks of the rivers, streams and nullahs in particular and the public in general to shift to safer places in the district.

The Swat River was in high flood at Munda and Khiyali points while the water level was rising with the passage of time.

The flooding in Swat River at Khiyali point affected villages and towns in various union councils in Tangi tehsil, including Abazai, Katozai, Tarnab, Agrah, Mirzadher, Nisatta, Dheri Zardad and others.

The district administration, Tehsil Municipal Administration and Rescue 1122 have launched rescue and relief activities in the flood-hit areas.

The affected people were being shifted in vehicles and boats to temporary shelters established in safer places at Abdul Wali Khan Sports Complex, Postgraduate College Charsadda and schools and colleges in Tangi, Kot Tarnab and others.

The affectees were being provided essential food items, safety kits and medicines. The administration has already cancelled the public holidays of the TMA staff and other civic agencies.

Local public representatives, ministers and officials, including Taimur Salim Jhagra, Fazal Shakoor Khan, Deputy Commissioner Abdur Rahman, Additional Deputy Commissioner Sania Safi and others visited flood-hit areas and monitored relief activities.

According to the Floods Warning Centre (FWC), very high flood was also reported in river Kabul at Adezai bridge in Nowshera with 90,200 cusec water. The floods also inundated several villages in Nowshera where the Army has established a rescue camp to facilitate people. The residents of the low-lying had been shifted to safer places on Friday night in the wake of the flood emergency. The officials of the district administration in Nowshera said the water level in the river had started subsiding and the emergency situation was likely to end within three hours.

In Mardan, the district administration has established relief camps for the affected people of flood of Nowshera and Charsadda district in different school of the district 10 families and 53 individuals of flood affected people reached Mardan, additional deputy commissioner

(ADC) Relief and Human Rights Aasma Arif said. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has put all the rescue and relief agencies and civic bodies on high

alert to cope with the emerging situation caused by the torrential rains and the subsequent flooding in Swat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and elsewhere in the province.