Sindh prepares for a flood caused by swelling northern rivers
As the death toll from this year’s monsoon passed 1,000, Pakistan’s flood-prone Sindh province in the south braced itself on Sunday for further downpour from swelling rivers in the north.
Numerous mountain tributaries to the north feed the huge Indus River, which flows through Pakistan’s second-most populous province. However, many of these rivers have broken their banks as a result of record rains and glacier melt.
Authorities have issued warnings that torrents of water are anticipated to reach Sindh in the coming days, adding to the suffering of millions already impacted by the floods.
Aziz Soomro, the manager of a barrage that controls the river’s flow close to Sukkur, declared that the Indus was presently in a state of high flood.The Indian subcontinent’s yearly monsoon is necessary for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams, but it also brings havoc.
One in seven Pakistanis, according to officials, were affected by this year’s monsoon flooding, which either destroyed or severely damaged roughly a million homes.
The nation’s National Disaster Management Authority reported on Sunday that 1,033 people had died as a result of the monsoon rains, with 119 of those fatalities occurring on the previous day.
It said that this year’s floods are equivalent to those of 2010, which were the worst on record and resulted in over 2,000 fatalities and submerged over a fifth of the nation.
In Pakistan’s north, authorities ordered thousands of residents who lived near flood-swollen rivers to leave dangerous areas, but army helicopters and rescue workers are still bringing stragglers to safety.
According to rescuer Umar Rafiq, residents were told to leave their homes about three or four in the morning.”We had to rescue women and children as the flood waters hit the region.”
A 150-room hotel that collapsed into a rushing flood was one of many buildings that were destroyed as many rivers in the region, a lovely tourist destination of rough mountains and valleys, burst their banks.
Owner of a guest house Nasir Khan claimed to have lost everything after the 2010 flooding severely damaged his business.He told AFP that “it has washed away the last of the motel.”