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Floods in Pakistan, death toll crosses 1300
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have been the worst effected by Floods that have crossed a 110 year old record in Pakistan as over a million cusecs of water crossed the Chashma barrage yesterday.
It is a calamity of epic proportions which has left over 1300 dead (which are officially reported figures) and has left hundreds of thousands homeless.
The death toll is feared to increase as there are several areas where rescue teams are yet to reach. Accessibility is a big problem.
In KP, Malakand division has been the worst hit in the words of Provincial Chief Minister, Amir Haider Khan Hoti. He says the KP faces its worst ever natural disaster that may have pushed the province’s progress some 50 years back.
Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti said thousands of people in the inaccessible valleys of Malakand division were in danger and rescue teams were facing problems in reaching there.
Addressing a press conference here, he said: “Accessibility to the trapped people in several valleys of Malakand is a major problem.”
He said the government’s top priority was to evacuate stranded people and distribute food among the displaced families.
“We are facing the worst-ever natural disaster in our history that has pushed the province almost 50 years back,” he said.
Mr Hoti earlier visited some affected areas in Malakand. “The magnitude of the devastation caused in Malakand is far more than that in Charsadda and Nowshera,” he said.
He said the entire infrastructure, including roads, bridges and buildings, in the region was in a shambles.
“The destruction caused by heavy rains and flash floods, particularly in Malakand, is beyond our imagination.”
In Punjab, Layyah has been amongst the worst hit where over 300,000 people are said to have been displaced where almost 12,000 houses were blown away with the power floods.
Rescue efforts have begun wherever immediately possible, but this calamity has definitely left Pakistani’s confused yet again with respect to our level of preparation to cope with disasters (natural or man-made). This also raises question marks on the disaster management authorities operating at the national and provincial levels.
We should and we must pray for our forgiveness.
