Govt approves deployment of army to help local authorities cope with floods

Govt approves deployment of army to help local authorities cope with floods

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – As heavy rains and flash floods continue to wreak havoc in the country and especially in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the federal government has approved the deployment of the military in all four provinces to help local authorities cope with floods.

The federal cabinet approved the deployment of troops to the affected districts through a circulation summary. The summary of deploying the army under Article 245 of the Constitution was approved.

The army will be sent to the affected districts of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab, the home department of all provincial governments has been informed.

Under Article 245 the armed forces are required to “act in aid of civil power when called upon to do so.”

With heavy rains continuing to batter parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), flash floods damaged houses and crops, blocked roads and caused power outages in Swat with several people to leave their houses due to the damage caused by the floodwater.

Several houses and hotels were flooded at Mingora by-pass. While the road of Mingora by-pass was blocked for any kind of travelling as it was inundated with the floodwater.

Due to the risk of a high-level flood in the Swat river, the administration directed the residents to leave their houses.

Also, rains wreaked havoc in the Tank district. 90 percent of the area has been badly affected by the flood. The flashfloods also swept away 3 people.

On the other hand, due to the floodwater of the Chenab river, residents have been facing food shortages, power outages. The people have lost their lands and animals. Their houses have also been swept away with the flashflood. The people of the area are living under the sky without any roof or shelter.

Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Disaster Management Authority has issued flood advisory for Swat river at Khwazakhela point.

In a press release, the Authority said the water flow in Swat river has reached “high to very high” flood level which may cause dangerous situation for the communities living near the river bank.

Directives have been issued to the District Administration to take precautionary measures to avert any untoward situation. The PDMA also directed concerned authorities to monitor the water flow of rivers continuously and remained alert. People can contact PDMA on its helpline 1700 in case of any emergency.

In Balochistan, floods and rains in Balochistan have caused havoc everywhere, with most areas of the province plunged into darkness due to power outages from last night, while communication systems were damaged while disconnected Balochistan from other parts of country.

So far 235 people including children and women have been killed in rain incidents of Balochistan.

Quetta city and its suburbs have been continuously raining for over 28 hours, sometimes heavy sometimes light rain received the respective areas , which made the situation worse, while more than several hundred people, including women and children, were trapped in the flood water in Balochistan including Quetta.

The electricity and gas supply system in the city were also suspended due to heavy rains, while the communication system has also been disrupted in the respective areas of Balochistan including Quetta city. The routine life was parlayed in the area and roads were presented sight of floods in Quetta city.

People were reported to stand in lines at shops of LPG to fill their cylinders of LPG gas in Quetta after gas supply was suspended while 12 inch gas pipeline along with Bibi Nani Bridge washed away in Bolan area.