17 more NWFP villages flooded

* Government declares high alert in Dera Ismail Khan because of Tarbela discharge
* Kabul and Swat Rivers in high flood

By Javed Afridi

PESHAWAR: At least 17 more villages in three NWFP districts were flooded on Thursday, as the government declared a state of high alert in Dera Ismail Khan after authorities at Tarbela said they would release water after the recent rains.

“The situation has worsened after authorities at Tarbela Dam said they would release 500,000 cusec feet of water during the next 24 hours,” Irrigation Department official Abdul Wali Yousafzai told Daily Times. He said Kabul River’s water level had reached a record high with 108,000 cusec feet of water and Tarbela’s outflow would affect Dera Ismail Khan as well as Nowshera and Chashma where 82 spurs were already endangered by flash floods.

He said the water level at Attock was above 300,000 cusec feet and its back flow had endangered Nowshera, which was four feet above the water level and was not in a position to accommodate more water.

A meeting was convened by the Dera Ismail Khan district coordination officer (DCO), which was also attended by military officials, and a plan of action was chalked out to deal with more flooding.

Elsewhere in the province, the Pakistan Army took 300 people stranded in flood-hit villages of Bela Mohmandan, Kodai and Jala Bela to safer locations in three rescue operations during the past 24 hours.

Rescue parties consisting of army engineers with motorboats were busy taking people to safer places while relief parties consisting of army doctors and infantry units were providing medical aid, food, blankets and tents to the victims at temporary camps.

Rescue parties had also been put on alert at Nowshera, Amangarh, Gari Momin and Gulabad (Charsadda) to meet any situation. On Thursday, 1,750 people stranded in flood-hit areas were taken to safer places in 12 rescue operations.

In Chitral, 200 tents and as many blankets were dispatched to the Chitral DCO as pre-emptive measures after he reported that several wooden bridges had been washed away by floods. Crops had also been damaged in Chitral due to the floods, a report said.

The latest report stated that the Kabul River was in extreme flood at Shah Alam with 18,513 cusec feet and Swat River was in high flood at Munda. Kabul River was in high flood at Warsak, Nowshera and Khiali with 109,940, 156,500 and 56,225 cusec feet respectively.

Kabul River was likely to remain in high flood at Nowshera during the next 24 hours, the Flood Warning Centre said on Thursday, APP reported. It said water discharges might range between 150,000 and 160,000 cusecs during the period.

Home | National