Hyderabad:
The flood triggered by the rain cutting a strip through Punjab could soon extend its devastation to the Sindh, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of people living in the river areas of the province. The Higher Minister of Sindh, Sharjeel Inam Memon, warned on Saturday that 1.65 million people residing in 15 Sindh districts could be affected by rising waters.
Addressing the media of Karachi, Sharjeel detailed that 1,651 villages, distributed in 167 union committees and union councils and housing around 273,000 families, are faced with the threat of a flood. He also warned that around 102 points along the thousands of kilometers from the embankments of the Industry river showed structural weaknesses during the major previous floods in 2010 and 2015.
To hold informed residents, the Emergency Surveillance Supervisor Cell and Provincial Government Floods was activated. Accessible via four fixed numbers, the cell will provide flood updates every three hours. Sharjeel urged the media to rely on this official source for precise and timely information on the evolution of the situation.
To meet the concerns about the relocation of people living on the river bed, Sharjeel said that most residents prefer to stay with loved ones rather than moving to emergency camps. “Residents of the Katcha regions know when to evacuate in the face of imminent floods,” he said. However, the provincial government proactively establishes rescue camps according to the estimated number of people displaced in each district. In addition, 300 cattle camps are installed in the Sindh to protect animals during the crisis.
Sharjeel also stressed that the president of the Pakistani peoples Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and the chief minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah closely monitor the situation and actively emit directives to ensure a coordinated response.
Flood update
Irrigation authorities recorded 364,573 water flow copies at the GUDDU dam, 256,660 Cuses in Sukkur and 265,328 CUSECS in Kotri on Saturday. Currently, the flood status at the three dams remains low. The GUDDU dam can withstand 1.2 million cuses, SUKKUR up to 960,000 brackets and kotri up to 870,000 CUSECs.
During devastating floods in 2010, the Kotri dam managed to pass between a million to 1.2 million floodplates without structural damage or discharge of its dikes. Meanwhile, the Industry river began recovering its land, known locally as Katcha. Residents of hundreds of villages from the divisions of Larkana, Sukkur and Hyderabad began to evacuate their homes for safety on Saturday.
Crue waters have also reached Torhi embankment, a site whose violation in 2010 caused floods that affected almost half of the Sindh province after a difference of 15 years. In addition, the residents of Larkana have raised concerns concerning the weak points developing on Moria Loop Bund, criticizing the irrigation authorities for having omitted to strengthen the dike so far.
Residents say that 50 jamshoro submerged villages
The inhabitants of Jamshoro have said that more than 50 villages have so far underwater, but the district administration has put the figures of the villages which will be overwhelmed at 28 years old. Deputy Commissioner Jamshoro, Ghazanfar, said that rescue camps were created in 30 school buildings.
He added that eight emergency camps, 12 medical camps and five veterinary camps will be installed in Hyderabad Besidese 10 mobile rescue 1122 teams will remain on the ground for evacuation.
In the Ghotki district, which borders the Punjab, the provincial minister Muhammad Bux Mahar said that if the water level crossed 700,000 cuses, the services of the army of Pak and the Rangers would be sought to evacuate people from the Katcha regions. The district administration in the Kashmore-Kandhkot district, which houses the Guddu dam, continued to call on residents of the river bed villages to move to safe areas. The authorities assured people that they would receive all the installations required in the emergency camps if they had chosen to stay there.
