Pre-monsoon rains have wreaked havoc in various parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, causing floods and roofs to collapse, damaging crops and properties and leaving several people dead and injured, according to the provinces’ disaster management authorities. In the Sonari area of Balochistan’s Kohlu, the road connecting the locality to Quetta had been swept away by flooding and several bridges were damaged, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a statement on Tuesday. Floods had also swept away electricity poles in Kohlu and the downpour in Barkhan damaged crops.
Many parts of the province continue to be lashed by rain, with reports of heavy showers in Sibi, Kohlu, Ziarat, Quetta, Chaman, Harnai, Loralai, Sherani, Musa Khel, Barkhan and Zhob, the PDMA said. Thunderstorms and gusty winds have been reported in Sibi, Kohlu, Ziarat, Quetta, Harnai, Loralai, Sherani, Musakhel, Barkhan, Zhob, Kalat and Khuzdar, it added.mIn Sibi, the PDMA said, four women and a man were killed when raging torrents had swept away a truck on Sunday.
PDMA also said that between Sunday and Monday, the Kalkot Daba Road in Upper Dir as well as the Swat-Shangal main road at Machar area of Alpuri of Shangla district had been blocked due to land-sliding but were later cleared.
The warning from the minister came in a statement that also carried directives for relevant federal and provincial departments to take measures to deal with any potential disasters. “Directives have been issued for mobilizing resources and emergency planning on the district level to deal with [potential] floods,” the statement read. In the statement, Rehman specifically cautioned against possible “dangers” in urban areas as a result of torrential rains and said Pakistan was likely to witness rains in the current monsoon season at least till August.
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