-Visits flood-hit areas in Sindh, DI Khan
-Claims trillions needed for relief and rehabilitation
-Says Pakistan looks like a sea after floods
-33m have been affected so far, 18 more die in floods
-Water level recedes marginally in Manchhar Lake
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported 18 flood-related casualties on Wednesday as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for a “sustainable system” to cope with the challenges of climate change, which is seen as the primary reason that triggered unprecedented rains and floods in Pakistan this monsoon season.
Authorities have been struggling to respond to the floods given their unprecedented magnitude. The government has said 33 million people — 15pc of its population — have been affected.
A daily situation report by the National Disaster Management Authority showed on Wednesday that 18 more people had fallen victim to the deadly flood over the past 24 hours, taking the death toll since June 14 to 1,343.
The National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) confirmed the tally in a separate statement, saying that 17 people were injured due to flash floods over the past 24 hours, taking the total number of injured reported so far to 12,720.
The statement added that rain/thundershowers were expected in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit- Balstistan, while the weather would likely remain hot an humid in other areas of the country.
This morning, the NFRCC Deputy chairperson Ahsan Iqbal and the forum’s coordinator, Major General Zafar Iqbal, presided over a meeting of the forum to review the flood situation.
The flood situation in Sindh and Balochistan — two of the worst-affected provinces — and rehabilitation activities were the focus of the discussion, a statement issued after the meeting said.
The meeting was informed that digital mapping of affected areas would be carried out to prioritise the rehabilitation of communication infrastructure and population. Ahsan Iqbal further directed the relevant authorities to complete the joint damage assessment survey on “war footing” so that rehabilitation activities could be focused on, including the repair of communication infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Dera Ismail Khan to review the ongoing restoration and rehabilitation work in flood-affected areas.
On the occasion, the premier emphasised the need for a “sustainable system” to cope with the challenges of climate change. He said “trillions” were needed for relief and rehabilitation activities post floods.
“The country is grappling with an unprecedented situation, witnessing floods that have resulted in the loss of lives, infrastructure and crops,” he said, adding that it was time to “rise above politics and demonstrate the spirit of service and welfare.”
Revisiting the damage caused by floods in Swat, he regretted the construction of hotels and resorts alongside rivers, which he saw as the main reason behind floods in the district.
PM Shehbaz announced that a sum provided by a philanthropist for flood relief would be used for prefabricating 100 houses in DI Khan, each having two rooms and a toilet, to accommodate widows and orphans in the first phase.
He set a timeframe of two weeks for building the houses, saying that he would personally visit the site to assess whether the project could be replicated in other areas.
Moreover, announcing an earlier decision to increase the amount set aside for flood relief under the Benazir Income Support Programme, the premier said under this package, every flood-hit household would be given Rs25,000. “Besides, Rs1 million will be given in compensation to the relatives of the deceased.”
He said the government had also ordered 0.2m tents for the homeless displaced by floods.
The prime minister lauded politicians, the local administration and the armed forces for “acting in unison while contributing to the rescue and rehabilitation” of flood-affected citizens across the country and expressed his gratitude to friendly countries for their support and assistance.
Earlier, the PM was briefed about the losses caused by floods, with the DI Khan deputy commissioner (DC) stating that heavy rains from August 17 to August 27 had wreaked havoc in the district, affecting 70 per cent of its population.
A National Highway Authority (NHA) official told the prime minister that the 600-kilometre-long N-55 DI Khan-Razmak thoroughfare was restored in two days, while the N-35 Karakoram Highway up to Kuchal Nullah towards Kohistan was restored by Frontier Works Organisation.
The prime minister also visited the Saggu Bridge during his trip and was told the bridge was swept away due to flash floods. The bridge is located on the N-50 National Highway, connecting DI Khan with Kuchlak.
PM Shehbaz was told that after the first spell of torrential rains and floods, the bridge was repaired in two days and following a second hit by floods, its reconstruction was underway.
He was informed that the Saggu Bridge in the first torrential wave was restored within two days, however, the work was in progress after the second hit by floods.
The water level in Manchhar Lake on Wednesday recorded a slight decrease. According to official figures, the water level had dropped to 122.3 foot-reduced level (RL) at noon from 122.5RL at 6am.
Meanwhile, Indus River remained in high flood at Kotri barrage with around 58,3882 flowing downstream at noon against upstream discharge of 604,127 cusecs. Only a marginal drop was seen at upstream discharge at Kotri barrage on Wednesday.
According to Wapda chief engineer (water) Sukkur Naeem Qadir Mangi, flows in Main Nara Valley Drain remained the same with only slight recession in flows due to a breach at RD-10 on Tuesday.
