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Thursday, November 21, 2024  
19 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Rains restart in Balochistan

Dozens killed in flooding in country
A woman sits in a rubber boat as volunteers pull through a flooded road during the monsoon season in Karachi, Pakistan July 9, 2022. Reuters
A woman sits in a rubber boat as volunteers pull through a flooded road during the monsoon season in Karachi, Pakistan July 9, 2022. Reuters
The PDMA Balochistan’s rescue operation team in Rod Jogezai area of Killa Saifullah district. Photo via Twitter/@PDMABalochistan
The PDMA Balochistan’s rescue operation team in Rod Jogezai area of Killa Saifullah district. Photo via Twitter/@PDMABalochistan

Rains restarted in Quetta and its suburbs on Sunday with thunderstorms, as the city struggled to face the monsoon onslaught.

The spell of monsoon rain is not over yet as the Met Office has forecasted rain on Sunday (today). It said that the monsoon currents might get strengthened under the influence of the current weather system.**

“Heavy falls may generate urban flooding in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot on July 09th and 10th,” it said in its update on Saturday.

Intense floods have so far killed dozens of people and left thousands homeless in the country, officials said on Saturday.

At least 57 people, including women and children, were killed and 50 others got injured after being swept away in flood water and when the roofs of their houses collapsed, according to Ziaullah Langove, the disaster and home affairs adviser to the province’s chief minister.

An official of PDMA Balochistan’s rescue operation helps children cross the river in Rod Jogezai of Killa Saifullah district. Photo via Twitter/@PDMABalochistan
An official of PDMA Balochistan’s rescue operation helps children cross the river in Rod Jogezai of Killa Saifullah district. Photo via Twitter/@PDMABalochistan

Eight dams had burst due to the heavy rains, he added. Around 37 stranded farmers were rescued from floods in Lasbela in a joint operation conducted by the local administration and the FC personnel.

Rescue operations are underway and the government has announced its decision to provide Rs500,000 each to the family of people who died in rain related accidents.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two people, including a six-year-old, died and four were injured when their house collapsed due to rain, according to a district official statement.

Heavy rains have lashed the country in recent days, leaving large swathes of Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, inundated with water.

“Sindh and Balochistan [are] going through very high percentages of rainfall over a 30-year average,” Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said while quoting the Pakistan Meteorological Department data in a tweet on Saturday.

Monsoon 2022 rainfall (mm) from July 1 to July 9, 2022

Region Normal(mm) Actual(mm) Dep%
Pakistan 13.1 41.1 213
Azad Jammu and Kashmir 34.7 44.0 27
Balochistan 6.9 45.9 567
Gilgit 2.2 1.3 -41
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 21.4 20.8 -3
Punjab 22.3 32.9 47
Sindh 10.5 72.1 585

The National Disaster Management Authority has already alerted all the authorities concerned to remain vigilant and take all necessary precautionary measures.

“Keeping in view the expected situation during Eid holidays, NDMA has specifically advised rescue departments to make personnel, staff and equipment available to cope with any rain/flood-related incident,” it said in a statement on July 7.

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