Flood havoc: Death tally risen to 1,400

Pakistan

Flood havoc: Death tally risen to 1,400

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03 August,2010 12:21 pm

The number of those devoured by the floods has risen to 1, 400, Dunya News reported on Tuesday. Hundreds of acres of farmland has been submerged as River Indus flooded while 12 houses destroyed and 6 people went missing in landsliding in Azad Kashmir. Dozens of villages have been flooded due to the breakage of flood safety barriers at Taunsa Barrage and 950,000 cusec of flood water is moving towards lower Punjab and Sindh. Hundreds of houses have been completely destroyed in Laiyyah as well due to the flood water. The heavy flood of River Indus near the Taunsa division has claimed lives of 8 people so far, while dozens are still missing; where as the death toll in Battgram and Kohistan districts due to floods has increased to 125. As the flood water rushed in the surrounding areas of Taunsa, such as, Bakhri No Baramda, Basti Manjootha, Bait Ladha, Mir Kher Pati Wala, hundreds of houses were demolished and washed away. The flood safety barrier of Sheiru in Jampur was also destroyed due to heavy pressure of flood water due to which hundreds of hectares of agricultural land is also flooded. As many as 498 small settlements have been completely flooded in Rajanpur as well. In Maouzu Kacha Mirani and Kuch Jhakkar, more than 2000 victims of flood are stranded, while on the other side Sargodhas divison Shahpur and division Sahiwal have also been declared grief-stricken. In the surrounding area of Kashmoor and Kuccha, 400,000 cusecs of water released from Guddo Barrage, flooded more than 200 villages and thousands if hectares of agricultural land. The count of flood victims is reported to be more than 100,000. In Sindh, floodwater swept away a woman and his daughter in Kandh Kot, while a woman among four injured when a house caved in in Obaro. In Nauhsero Feroze, ten villages, while 5 villages submerged in Lakhi Ghulam Shah. On the other hand, River Swat has been deluged as new spell of rain begun in Swat and adjoining areas. The outflow of water from Warsak dam on river Kabul increased by 20,000 cusecs in just two hours after which nearby villages were shifted to safer locations. According to the provincial Disaster Management Authority, the outflow of water in river Kabul at Warsak was 70,000 cusecs at 5:00 am which exceeded 90,000 cusecs by 7:00 am. Villages of Pyarai, Shaglai and Jognai were instructed to move to safer locations. The water outflow is expected to increase. Thus, the evacuation of villages has become a necessity to avoid any loss of life.