Pak Flood Situation to Worsen as Rivers Indus, Swat Continue to Swell, Death Toll Inches Towards 1,000

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government in Pakistan has declared a rain emergency in several districts of the province until August 30. The provincial disaster management body warned that the Swat river may witness high to very high floods, news agency Dawn reported.

Floods in Pakistan have affected more than 30 million people with Balochistan and Sindh provinces impacted adversely. The death toll due to the floods could reach 1,000 and millions are needed in economic aid for those who have been impacted by the floods.

Here’s how the flood has impacted the Swat river region:

• Flash floods were reported in Swat, Shangla, Mingora, Kohistan regions
• At least 24 bridges and 50 hotels were washed away in the floods in the Swat region
• Four bodies washed away due to the floods surfaced in flood waters in Aghal, Durushkhela, Chamanlalai and Kalakot, respectively.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded 251 deaths due to the floods (since June)
• Amusement parks and restaurants were inundated due to floods, according to pictures released by Pakistan news media outlets

Meanwhile, former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan and KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan met people affected by the floods in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. Imran suggested that building small and medium sized dams across the country could reduce the impact of floods.

Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Sindh on Thursday and announced aid worth PKR 15 billion for the flood affected.

On Friday, 12 people died in flash floods in different parts of Swat. The river has swelled leading to floods which have washed away at least 24 bridges and 50 hotels. Several videos on social media showed people running for their lives as mosques, houses and buildings were washed in the floods.

In Chatekal area of Gwalerai in Swat, seven people died after the roof of their house caved in due to heavy rain. The region’s Emergency Operations Centre warned that the river could swell to such an extent that it could ‘result in a dangerous situation for communities living nearby’.

Along with river Swat, the Indus river in Pakistan is also expected to swell and cause floods at Kalabagh and Chashma regions. The Pakistan meteorological body warned that the region could witness severe floods over the weekend as the river could attain ‘high to very high flood levels’.

The Pakistan government led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif has deployed army personnel in all affected provinces. “The army personnel are being stationed to lend a hand to the civilian authorities in relief activities in the flood-ravaged areas,” Pakistan interior minister Rana Sanaullah said in a tweet.

(PKR – Pakistani Rupee)

(with inputs from Dawn)