Tough time, be patient, PM asks flood-hit people

SEHWAN/ D I KHAN: Parts of Pakistan seemed “like a sea”, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday, after visiting some of the flood-hit areas that cover as much as a third of the South Asian nation, where 18 more deaths took the toll from days of rain to 1,343. While addressing flood-hit people, the prime minister said that it is tough time and you should remain tolerant and we will all get out of the crisis jointly.

As many as 33 million of a population of 220 million have been affected in adisaster blamed on climate change that has left hundreds of thousands homeless and caused losses of at least $10 billion, officials estimate. “You wouldn’t believe the scale of destruction there,” PM Shehbaz told the media after a visit to Sindh. “It is water everywhere as far as you could see. It is just like a sea,” reported local media.

The government, which has boosted cash handouts for flood victims to Rs70 billion, will buy 200,000 tents to house displaced families, he added. Receding waters threaten a new challenge in the form of water-borne infectious diseases, PM Shehbaz said. “We will need trillions of rupees to cope with this calamity.” The United Nations has called for $160 million in aid to help the flood victims.

Many of those affected are from Sindh, where Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake is dangerously close to bursting its banks, even after having been breached in an operation that displaced 100,000 people.

National disaster officials said eight children were among the dead in the last 24 hours. The floods were brought by record monsoon rains and glacier melt in Pakistan’s northern mountains. With more rain expected in the coming month, the situation could worsen further, a top official of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned.

Already, the World Health Organisation has said more than 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in the flooded areas. The raging waters have swept away 1.6 million houses, 5,735 kms (3,564 miles) of transport links, 750,000 head of livestock, and swamped more than 2 million acres of farmland.

Pakistan has received nearly 190% more rain than the 30-year average in July and August, totalling 391mm, with Sindh getting 466% more rain than the average. In D I Khan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that first 100 prefabricated houses having two rooms and a toilet would be built in Dera Ismail Khan to accommodate widows and orphans in the first phase. He said the houses would be built in two weeks and he would personally visit the site to assess if the project, being carried out with the assistance provided by a philanthropist, could be replicated by the government in other parts of the country.

Addressing the locals and flood-affected people after reviewing the restoration work at Sago Bridge, the prime minister said the country was grappling with an unprecedented flood situation that resulted in loss of lives, infrastructure and crops. He said that unprecedented floods in the country had caused heavy losses to lives and infrastructure and emphasised putting in place a sustainable system to cope with the challenges of climate change.

The prime minister said trillions were required to carry out relief and rehabilitation activities in the flood-hit areas, however, he vowed the entire process would be carried out in a transparent manner. He recalled that during his previous visit to Tank and D I Khan after floods, the people were in the phase of rehabilitation till the floods hit them again. He lauded politicians, local administration and armed forces for acting in unison while making efforts for the rescue and rehabilitation of the affected people across the country.

The prime minister said it was time to rise above politics and demonstrate the spirit of service and welfare for the people. He said the coalition government raised the relief money under Benazir Income Support Programme from Rs28 billion to Rs70 billion for flood-affected people. He said every affected household would be provided Rs25,000 in a transparent way to help them mitigate their sufferings. Besides, one million rupees would be given as compensation money to the relatives of deceased.

PM Sharif lauded Communication Minister Maulana Asadur Rehman and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa for putting their efforts in pacing up the relief and rehabilitation activities in flood-hit areas. He also acknowledged the donations sent by the friendly countries to help Pakistan overcome the challenges in the wake of floods. He regretted that violation of building hotels and resorts in the river-stream in Swat resulted in damages.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman thanked the prime minister for extending assistance to the people of flood-affected areas and acknowledged the services of local officials, army personnel and welfare organisations. He said rehabilitation of displaced persons was the upcoming big challenge following the cumbersome task of rescue. He stressed a sustainable solution to floods in the area, including building of small dams like Tank Zam and Nawab Haider and also big dams like Gomal Zam Dam.

Earlier, the prime minister was briefed about the damages faced by people and infrastructure due to heavy floods. The deputy commissioner, D I Khan, in his briefing, said the heavy rains from August 17 to 27 wreaked havoc in Dera Ismail Khan district with 70 percent of the population affected by the floods. He said the hill torrents from west to east swept away a large area before falling into the Indus River and mentioned the challenges, including permanent rehabilitation of people after their temporary shelter.

A National Highway Authority (NHA) official told the prime minister that the 600-kilometre long N-55 D I Khan-Razmak Highway was restored in two days while the N-35 Karakoram Highway up to Kuchal Nullah towards Kohistan was restored by the Frontier Works Organisation. The prime minister also visited the Sago Bridge, which had been swept away due to flash floods. He was informed that the Sago Bridge after the first torrential wave was restored within two days, however the work was in progress after the second hit by floods.

Meanwhile, the 50-foot-wide breach at Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake has submerged over 500 nearby villages, including ancestral union council of Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, reported local media. Two cuts were administered to the lake by the provincial government but despite that water level remained at dangerously high level. Runway of Sehwan airport was inundated while Motorways Police closed the submerged Larkana-Hyderabad Indus Highway for traffic.

The Indus River has been in high flood at Kotri Barrage and low flood level at Sukkur and Guddu Barrages, Flood Forecasting Division said. The water in Indus River is receding at Guddu and Sukkur Barrages in upper Sindh, according to the date shared by the FFD, reported local media.

The Indus River has been in high flood at Kotri Barrage with water inflow surging to 604,100 cusecs and outflow in the downstream has been 583,900 cusecs. The water in the river at Guddu Barrage has further dropped in the last 24 hours. The inflow of water at Guddu Barrage has been 211,300 cusecs and outflow of water measured at 207,700 cusecs. The inflow and outflow of water at Sukkur Barrage has been 323,200 cusecs. The river has submerged hundreds of villages in Katcha area near Kandhkot, while villagers are moving from their homes by boats to safer places. The water is exerting pressure at Kotri Barrage and protective dykes from Dadu to Thatta and Sujawal, irrigation sources said.

Indus River water inflow at Tarbela has been 166,000 cusecs, while outflow has been 155,300 cusecs. The water inflow in river at Kalabagh has been 169,700 cusecs and discharge measured 161,700 cusecs. The water inflow in Indus at Chashma has been 205,200 cusecs and discharge measured at 187,200 cusecs. The water inflow in river at Taunsa Barrage has been 191,500 cusecs, while outflow has been 276,000 cusecs, according to the water record. Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers are flowing below the low flood level, the Flood Forecasting Division said.

Meanwhile, the National Highways Authority (NHA) on Wednesday closed the Karachi-Larkana Indus Highway due to flooding at various locations, reported local media. According to the NHA sources, the highway is submerged under flood water near Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah and Sehwan toll plaza. The water level on the location is around three feet, they added.

The Motorway Police have said that the highway cannot be reopened until the water level recedes significantly. The Grand Trunk road (GT Road) has also been badly affected due to heavy rainfall and floods in the province, they added.

The National Highway is also affected near Nowshero, Kandiaro, Qazi Ahmed and Jahanian, the Motorway Police added. The travel duration from Sukkur-Karachi has gone up from 6 to 15 hours amid flooding and rainfall, they added. Over 5,000 kms of roads have been damaged in the country due to devastating floods and heavy rainfall, the NDMA reported.

An outbreak of contagious diseases has surfaced in the flood-hit areas. In the last 24 hours, 87,373 cases of infectious diseases have been reported, according to sources. Most of the cases are being reported from the flood-ravaged areas of Sindh.

Overall, 14,686 cases of diarrhea have been reported across the country in the last 24 hours, 10,802 cases of the disease were reported from Sindh. Diarrhea is also rapidly spreading in flood-stricken areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In Balochistan, 1,890 cases and KP 1,382 cases of the contagious disease were reported. Punjab has reported 612 cases of diarrhea in 24 hours. Some 20,016 cases of skin infection were reported in flood victims in a day. Sindh reported 16,107 cases of skin infection, while Balochistan 1,802 and KP 1,168 patients of skin infection, sources said.

In the last 24 hours 15,532 cases of lung infection were reported in flood-hit areas, 11,190 cases of them in Sindh, 1,749 cases in Balochistan, 1,374 cases in Punjab and 1,219 cases of lung infections were reported from KP.

Overall, 655 cases of eye infection were reported in flood hit areas of the country. Moreover, 384 suspected cases of typhoid were reported from the flood-stricken areas, according to sources.

In the last 24 hours, five cases of snakebite were reported in these areas, three of them in Sindh and two in Balochistan. Moreover, 34,749 cases of other diseases were also reported from flood-hit areas in the last 24 hours, sources added.