A family awaits rescuers after they moved from a low-lying area. PHOTO: PPI
DERA GHAZI KHAN/ MULTAN:
Intermittent rains over the weekend led to a medium-level flood in Taunsa barrage and caused flash floods near the Sulaiman Range. A flood in River Indus near Layyah caused a dyke breach, prompting the district administration to evacuate villages in the area.
Layyah DCO Rana Gulzar told The Express Tribune on Monday that 500 feet of Sippar Wala dyke had been washed away after water levels rose. He said 20 villages had been inundated. He said the district administration had set up 12 monitoring and rescue camps in Layyah tehsil and five relief camps in Kehror Pakka.
Gulzar said 12 villages in Sultanpur and Pahaarpur had been evacuated. He said Kehror Pakka had been worst-hit in the flood. Sugarcane, cotton, maize, wheat and rice crops on 40,000 acres were destroyed, he said. He said some 500,000 cusecs water was expected to pass through Taunsa Barrage on Monday and Tuesday. Some 450,000 cusecs had passed near Layyah when this report was filed.
Multan DCO Zahid Saleem Gondal said water level in Chenab had touched 200,000 cusecs and had inundated several villages close to the river. He said the flood the peak was approaching rural areas around Shujabad.
He said the villages had been evacuated by the district administration a week before Eid.
A spokesman for the Flood Control Centre said water levels were falling. He said Multan, Khanewal, Vehari and Lodhran would not be affected by the flood.
The Irrigation Department has declared Jhakkar Imam Shah bund near Dera Ghazi Khan sensitive.
In Rajanpur, five people were killed and three others injured in a roof collapse after it rained overnight. In Dera Ghazi Khan, a man was injured when the roof of his house collapsed on Monday morning.
In Rahim Yar Khan, district officials said 30,000 people were evacuated from villages near River Indus.
Some 25,000 acres in Rak Zabzani, Omar Kot, Shah Wali, Meerapur, Chak Chiryah, Chak Kukraan, Wah Mashka and Chandaka was inundated. Maize, cotton and sugar cane crops were reported destroyed.
Rajanpur DCO Zahoor Hussain said relief camps had been set up for those affected by the floods.
Flash floods hit the tribal area in Dera Ghazi Khan near the Sulaiman Range.
According to the Flood Control Centre, water level in Chashma barrage was nearly 400,000 cusec. The district administration evacuated 20 villages over the weekend, the Dera Ghazi Khan DCO said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2015.
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