— Rescue underway as Indus, Kabul rivers highly flooded
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehabaz Sharif on Saturday said that the federal government had allocated a grant of Rs38 billion to support each flood affected family with disbursement of Rs25,000.
Speaking to the flood affected people in Sajawal, Sindh, the prime minister said he had already announced a grant of Rs15 billion to Sindh province while the distribution of flood relief amount among each family had commenced in Sindh province after Balochistan under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). BISP had the complete data, ensuring prompt and justified distribution among the deserving families, he added.
Assuring the provincial governments of the federal government’s support, the prime minister said others provinces would also be extended with such grants. The prime minister was accompanied by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, federal ministers and the relevant authorities.
Visiting flood affected areas & meeting people. The magnitude of the calamity is bigger than estimated. Times demand that we come together as one nation in support of our people facing this calamity. Let us rise above our differences & stand by our people who need us today.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 27, 2022
He said with the support of National Disaster Management Authority and other relevant departments, the federal government continued to support the provincial governments in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts.
He said that a combined survey would be completed soon which would enable them to get an estimate of the damages and losses caused by floods across the country.
He said in Swat and Kalam, the flash floods had caused colossal losses as hotels had been swept away and scores of lives were lost.
The prime minister also directed Minister for Energy Engineer Khurram Dastagir Khan to supervise the efforts for restoration of power supply in the affected areas.
Rescue underway as Indus, Kabul rivers highly flooded
Pakistan witnessed another day of deaths and devastation on Saturday as dozens of people were left dead and thousands stranded as a result of landslides and floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) amid “high to very high” floods in Kabul and Indus rivers.
Meanwhile, a rain emergency remained in place in several areas of the province in the wake of unprecedented rains that pushed most of the country into a crisis.
Death toll from floods, landslides in Swat reaches 24 as 12 more killed while Peshawar corps evacuates 22 stranded people from Kumrat. KP CM’s helicopter was deployed to rescue stranded tourists, deliver food in isolated areas.
Evacuations were underway in several KP areas amid a ‘very high flood’ in Nowshera, where the water level in the Kabul River has risen above 300,000 cusecs. 150 tourists were reported stranded in Upper Dir, Kalam and Swat for the past three days. However, they were rescued later by army aviation helicopters.
KP CM visits flood-affected areas in Swat and Lower Dir, announces Rs1 billion for victims. At present, more than half of Pakistan is under water and millions of people have been rendered homeless as a result of flash flooding generated by abnormal monsoon rains which have entered their eighth spell with no signs of subsiding.
According to the latest estimates, nearly 1,000 people, including 300 children, have lost their lives because of rains and resulting flooding that has impacted nearly 33 million people – almost 15 per cent of the country’s population.
KP Secretary of Information and Public Relations Arshad Khan said that over 500,000 cusecs of water had flooded the province.
“The government has started rescue and relief efforts in all affected areas, while the work on the restoration of road infrastructure is going on on an emergency basis,” he told media persons in Swat, adding that 10 tonnes of rations were delivered so far.
Arshad also said that the helicopter used by KP CM had been deployed for the flood operations. “It will be used to rescue tourists stranded across the province and to provide food items to isolated areas.”
Meanwhile, Nowshera Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mir Reza Ozgen renewed his call for the relocation of the district’s residents to safer places as flow in Kabul River rose above 300,000 cusecs, resulting in a “very high flood” in the water body.
The Nowshera DC urged for evacuations again today morning, saying in a statement that there was a “very high flood” in the Kabul River in the district.
“The water level in the Kabul River in Nowshera has crossed 250,000 cusecs,” said the statement, adding the water level was rising further.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority in KP issued a statement around the same time, saying that the water level in the river in Nowshera was recorded at 315,262 cusecs. It added that the river’s water level in Virk had reached 130,364 cusecs.
Meanwhile, the Nowshera DC appealed to citizens to move to safer locations. He said relief camps had been set up for people affected by floods and urged them to shift there.
