Over 60,000 affected by flood in Balochistan

People use a boat to rescue people stranded.—AP

QUETTA: Four people were killed on Thursday as torrential rainfall was reported from different districts of Balochistan.

Over 60,000 people have been affected. About 80 people have died in rain-related incidents in one week.

Hasan Baloch of Provincial Disaster Management Authority told Dawn that the authority had received reports about four deaths from the flood-hit areas of Zhob, Kohlu, Sobatput and Bhag.

Heavy rains which continued for several hours washed away dozens of houses in Haji Shaher, Bhag, Kohlu, Sibi and Nasirabad.

Heavy rains were also reported from Dera Bugti and Kohlu districts. The seasonal Lehri river has swollen to a dangerous level.

Sources said that the flood water cut off Lehri town from other areas in the province and a large number of houses and roads were washed away. Hundreds of people have been rendered homeless in the three towns.

According to reports, vast areas of Nasirabad district, including Tamboo tehsil, were hit by torrents from Dera Bugti, Kohlu and Lehri. Balochistan’s Minister for Communications and Works Sadiq Umrani said hundreds of houses had been washed away in Tamboo tehsil.

He said that road communication had been badly affected. Around 3,000 families in Nasirabad district are facing serious hardship.

Jhal Magsi and Gandawah were also badly affected by the swelling Bolan and Nari rivers in Kachhi district.

Mr Baloch said that army and Frontier Corps personnel had launched a relief operation in the affected areas.

“The people who lost their houses and livestock are being shifted to the safe places by the army and Frontier Corps personnel,” he said.

UNHCR dispatched a consignment of relief goods for people in the flood-affected districts.

The first convoy of 17 trucks carried 585 tents, 2,700 plastic sheets, 1,760 kitchen sets and 4,000 plastic mats for the two most affected villages of Talli and Sultan Kot in Sibi district.

http://www.dawn.com