Pakistan resumes rescue operations in flood-hit areas; death toll over 300
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PESHAWAR – Fresh torrential rain in northern Pakistan killed at least 20 people on Aug 18, local officials said, as rescue and relief operations resumed after they were halted for several hours in a region where more than 300 have died since Aug 15.
The intense rain has claimed lives and spread destruction in several northern districts, with most people killed in flash floods, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
In hilly areas, the rain caused flash floods, as well as mud and rock slides that washed away houses, buildings, vehicles and belongings.
“It was like a doomsday scenario,” 24-year-old university student Sahil Khan told Reuters TV, describing the flash floods. “Everybody is scared. Children are scared. They cannot sleep.”
Buner district was the worst hit, with over 200 deaths.
At least 20 people were killed on Aug 18 by torrential rain in north-west Pakistan, local officials said.
“A cloudburst in the Gadoon area of Swabi completely destroyed several houses, killing more than 20 people,” a local official in the district told AFP.
Between three and five villages were wiped out by the huge amount of rain falling in a short period of time, a second official said, confirming the death toll.
Heavy rain in the flood-hit areas forced rescue teams to halt relief efforts for several hours on Aug 18, Mr Abid Wazir, a regional government officer, told Reuters.
“Our priority is now to clear the roads, set up bridges and bring relief to the affected people,” he said.
Residents in Buner’s Bayshonai Kalay village panicked and ran to higher ground after a water channel that had earlier overflowed and caused major devastation started swelling with the fresh rain on Aug 18.
Rescuers from the local government, the disaster management authority and the army used excavator machines to clear the roads and streets of mud, fallen trees and electric poles.
Relief goods have been sent to the affected areas, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told local Geo News television.
Food, medicine, blankets, camps, an electric generator and de-watering pumps are included in the relief goods, the disaster management authority said in a statement.
Buner, a 3½-hour drive from the capital Islamabad, was hit by a cloudburst, a rare phenomenon in which more than 100mm of rain falls within an hour in a small area, officials said.
In Buner, there was more than 150mm of rain within an hour on the morning of Aug 15, they said.
More heavy rain was expected across Pakistan until early September, officials said.
“The current weather system is active over the Pakistan region and may cause heavy to very heavy rainfall during the next 24 hours,” the disaster management authority said on Aug 17.
Torrential rain and flooding this monsoon season have killed 657 people across Pakistan since late June, it added. REUTERS
