Heavy rainfall has continued over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since Monday evening, causing widespread disruption and flooding. PHOTO: EXPRESS
ISLAMABAD:
As the monsoon intensified, heavy rains lashed the country’s upper and northern regions on Thursday, causing widespread disruption.
Lahore recorded 343 millimeters of rainfall during the past 48 hours, while Gilgit-Baltistan bore the brunt of heavy downpours during the past two days. The region was further affected by cloudbursts, rapid ice melt and severe flooding in streams and rivers, compounding the impact of the extreme weather.
Furthermore, the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s Flood Division warned of rising flood risks as a strong monsoon system interacting with a westerly wave is expected to trigger widespread rainfall, rapid river inflow, flash floods in mountainous areas, hill flows and urban flooding in vulnerable towns, prompting authorities to monitor rivers closer to catchment areas.
According to a hydrological situational alert, widespread rain with isolated heavy falls is expected over Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and parts of Balochistan during the next two days.
High floods continued at Khanki and Qadirabad barrages on river Chenab on Thursday, while Marala barrage remained at medium flood level as monsoon flows continued to swell Punjab’s rivers, latest data showed.
The data showed that the Chenab at Marala Barrage recorded an inflow of 194,452 cusecs and an outflow of 174,452 cusecs, maintaining a medium flood level. At Khanki Barrage, the inflow reached 261,463 cusecs against an outflow of 256,063 cusecs, placing the barrage in a high flood category.
At Qadirabad Barrage, the river carried an inflow of 267,159 cusecs while 252,159 cusecs was discharged downstream. Authorities said 15,000 cusecs of water was diverted into the QB Link canal while high floods continued at the barrage.
The Ravi River remained largely stable. At Kot Naina, the river was flowing at 17,500 cusecs with the water level showing a declining trend. Flows at Jassar, Ravi Siphon and Shahdara were recorded at 24,940 cusecs, 32,577 cusecs and 32,138 cusecs respectively, with conditions described as normal.
Gilgit-Baltistan
Floods, landslides and falling debris have severely damaged several houses, connecting roads, three major bridges, irrigation systems, drinking water schemes and large areas of agricultural land, while the ground connection to several areas has been severed.
The Gilgit-Chitral Expressway has also been closed due to the rains.
On the outskirts of Gilgit city, floods entered homes in Konodas, Skarkoi, Jotal and Naltar, causing extensive damage to standing crops and trees.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
At least 22 people have been killed and 23 others injured in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since July 19, when heavy monsoon rains and flash floods triggered house collapses and swept people away, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Thursday.
