The federal government has ordered the deployment of the military in four provinces to help local authorities cope with floods.

The military is being summoned under Article 245 of the Constitution. A summary was moved to the federal cabinet.

Under Article 245 the armed forces are required to “act in aid of civil power when called upon to do so.”

SAMAA TV’s Tika Khan Sani reported that the provincial governments of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan had sent requisitions to the federal interior ministry for military deployment.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the military is being deployed to all the flood-hit areas of four provinces.

The Pakistan Army has already been aiding rescue and relief efforts in different parts of the country. Now, a large-scale deployment is expected.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab governments on Friday ordered evacuation of Nowshera and Attock districts in wake of the flood emergency imposed in the country.

The move comes after the flood forecasting division of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned that a 300,000 cusecs flood wave would pass through the Nowshera district during the next 24 hours while Tarbela Dam and Kabul River is set to release 626,000 cusecs water, putting Attock district in harm.

Deputy commissioners of the both the districts told the local population to evacuate the low-lying areas of the flood during the daylight, as evacuation at the night would prove difficult.

0 seconds of 13 secondsVolume 0%

The officer warned that even the Grand Trunk (GT) Road face the risk of being submerged in four feet deep water.

All the private and public sector educational institutions have been closed in the districts, whereas the control of hospitals, private buildings and vehicles has been given to the district administration for the next two days to avoid any untoward situation. They will be responsible for shifting vulnerable people to safer places in the face of a flood emergency.

A Nowshera administration official said the water in River Kabul continued to rise due to nonstop rainfall. The water flow in the river was recorded at 120,000 cusecs earlier in the afternoon, fearing it to rise to 270,000 cusecs later in the evening.

In Attock, rescue teams have been deployed at eight points. Police have also been put on high alert. Mobile services have been used to notify locals of the flood threat.

He also appealed to the public to call the helpline number 09239220098-99 in case of any mishap or query

Former prime minister Imran Khan visited the flood-affected areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Friday and directed “to improve scale & speed of the assistance to the people including preventive measures against the spread of disease especially in children.”

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman was accompanied by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, Ali Amin Gandapur and others.

He visited the flood devastated areas of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank and also took an aerial view of the prevailing situation.

Imran maintained that “the sheer magnitude of the flooding that I saw in Tank & DI Khan shows the challenge Pakistan is confronted with, as this is the situation in many other areas across the country.”

The ex-premier also visited the flood devastated areas on foot to get a briefing on the damages and deaths from officials present on the ground.

He also met some flood affectees at a relief camp set up by the K-P government in DI Khan.

IMRAN KHAN

FLOODS 2022

Pakistan has been pushed into a state of national emergency and acute humanitarian crisis by the incessant monsoon rains and floods raging across the country which has so far claimed 1,003 lives and left over 20 million people homeless.

Apocalyptic images pouring in from parts of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and other areas have shocked the world as Pakistan battles one of the worst floods ever.

At least three million people are in need of immediate aid, with monsoon season showing no mercy and obliterating everything in its way.

This number is expected to rise in the coming days, with floods wreaking havoc in around 101 cities of Pakistan, SAMAA TV’s Investigation Unit reported.

Stranded people carry their belongings as they wade through a flooded area after heavy monsoon rainfall in Rajanpur district of Punjab province on August 25, 2022. Figures from the national disaster agency showed on August 25 that 903 people had died in the floods since June, and more than 180,000 were forced to flee their rural homes. PHOTO AFP

Preliminary findings by the NDMA, PDMAs and district management committees note that nearly 340 children and 211 women are among the people who perished in the recent floods and downpours this year.

It also left more than 1,700 people injured.

As per the official data collected from different districts, 260 deaths and 1,083 injuries were reported in Balochistan, 187 deaths and 320 injuries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 184 deaths and 233 injuries in Punjab, and 320 deaths in Sindh, while 41 died in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 11 persons perished in Gilgit-Baltistan.

A man carrying his young children to safety as floodwater rise to an alarming level in Dera Allahyar, Balochistan on August 21. Photo: AFP/file

Crops on 3m acres destroyed, 1.5m livestock killed

The preliminary data, gathered by the SAMAA’s investigation unit through multiple sources, showed that approximately 1.5 million heads of livestock (goats, sheep, cows, buffaloes, etc.) were killed in the natural disaster putting the food security of the country at risk.

Furthermore, disaster managers operating in different parts of the provinces told SAMAA TV that nearly 3 million acres (8,300 square km) of agricultural lands were submerged which is likely to cause 20% reduction in agricultural production this year.

Read: How Rs297 billion Sindh crops damage will affect your kitchen

Rough estimates suggest agriculture damage in this year’s floods and rains will cross the Rs750 billion mark.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) officials worry the scope of disaster and volume of destruction may be larger than what is being perceived, perhaps may even break previous records of four floods that impacted Pakistan since 2004.

“Approximately 0.3 million acres of rice fields, 0.6 million acres of cotton crops, 0.3 million acres of sugar cane crops, and 0.6 million of corn, maize, beans, pepper, red gram, pulses and animal fodder fields were spoiled in the floods.”

The initial findings also revealed that over 0.5 tonnes of wheat stockpiles were also spoiled by floodwaters.

Million houses, 3,500km roads, 280 bridges damaged

As many as one million houses were either partially or completely damaged in the relentless downpours and consequent inundation in over 34 districts of Pakistan.

Flood have affected over 3,500 kilometers of roads and highways near the Chenab, Kabul, Jhelum and Indus Rivers as well as its tributaries and canals.

Estimates reveal that over 280 small and large bridges including 21 railway bridges collapsed due to the natural calamity.

Official figures further highlight that over a dozen small dams were also affected by heavy rains in Balochistan.

Modest official data also pointed out that more than 320 shops and 139 major markets were also washed away by floods in Pakistan. Although the extent of damage is larger than the perception as more data pours in.

People use makeshift rafts to reach safety as houses are submerged by torrential rains in Hyderabad. Photo: AFP

In Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), 27 shops, and 496 houses were completely destroyed of which 145 of these were partially damaged.

In the country’s largest province, Balochistan, rains and floods damaged 910 kilometer of roads, 38 bridges, and 226,897 houses. Around 0.7 million livestock heads also perished.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, rains and floods damaged 5-kilometer roads, 52 bridges, and 510 houses of which 306 were completely levelled.

On the other hand in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, monsoon rains and floods damaged 122-kilometer road network, 17 bridges, and 126,897 houses. As many as 2,742 livestock heads also passed away in the natural disaster.

Rains and floods also damaged 237-kilometer of roads, 18 bridges, 260 shops and 264,106 houses in Punjab and impacted 302,797 livestock.

Calamity-stricken cities

Floods affected all major districts of Balochistan namely Ziarat, Duki, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Sohbatpur, Chaman, Awaran, Kachi, Bolan,Barkhan, Dera Bugti, Ziarat, Zhob , Nushki, Pishin, Kharan, Jhal Magsi, Panjgur, Sherani, Saifullah, Kalat, Surab, Kech, Mastung, Killa Abdullah, Loralai, Musakhel, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Chaghi.

In Sindh, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad, Badin, Jacobabad, Umerkot, N. Feroze, Kashmore, Jamshoro, Dadu, Sujawal, Khairpur, Ghotki, Sanghar, Kamber, Umerkot, Matiari and Keamari were battered by the monsoon.

Rescue worker helps Rajanpur flood victims off-board on dry land. Photo: AFP

While in Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, heavy damages were registered in Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Muzaffargarh and Sialkot.

In the north, Abbottabad, Bajaur, Buner, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Haripur, Karak, Khyber, Kurram, Lower Chitral, Mardan, Nowshera, Upper Dir, Upper Kohistan and Upper Chitral also suffered due to severe floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

MONSOON RAINS

FLOODS 2022

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hosted a reception for Pakistani athletes on Thursday, who won medals at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games and Islamic Solidarity Games.

Weightlifter Nooh Butt, gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games, and Javelin Thrower Arshad Nadeem, gold medalist at the Commonweath Games and Islamic Solidarity Games, were awarded Rs5 million each.

Altaf-ur-Rehman, bronze medalist in the para table tennis event of the Islamic Solidarity Games, was given a cash prize of Rs250,000. He is the first-ever para-athlete to secure a medal for Pakistan in the history of the games.

Shah Hussain Shah, who won a bronze medal in Judo event of the Commonwealth Games, received a cash prize of Rs1 million.

Wrestlers Inayatullah, Mohammad Inam Butt, Sharif Tahir, Ali Asad and Zaman Anwar were also given cash prizes on this occasion.

“These athletes performed really well and made the country proud,” said PM Shehbaz. “I hope that these athletes will continue to do well in the future.”

“Their achievements will also inspire younger generation in the country,” he added.