Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered federal ministers on Sunday to supervise the aid operations at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after sudden floods left 314 people dead and 156 wounds, along with serious damage to the infrastructure.
The KP government declared an emergency on Saturday while torrential rains devastated the houses, moved to families and left a trace of destruction through Buner, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra and beyond, with authorities that warn that dozens of victims can still be trapped under debris.
According to the State Pakistan radioAdditional help assets are being sent to the areas affected by floods in the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz, who is personally monitoring the relief operations of the National Disaster Management Authority in all districts affected by KP floods.
“The teams of federal ministers, on the instructions of the Prime Minister, will participate in the aid operations in the areas affected by the floods.” Pakistan radio reported.
Federal Minister of Affairs of Gilgit Baltistan and Kashmir and border regions, Amir Muqam will supervise the distribution of aid goods in the Shangla and Buner districts.
The Division of Minister of Power, Awais Leghari, will take care of the activities in Buner, and the Minister of Religious Affairs, Sardar Yousaf, will supervise the operations in Mansehra. Special Assistant of Prime Minister Mubarak ZEB will supervise the aid distribution activities in Bajaur.
“Additional trucks are being sent that transport products to help the districts affected under the help package of the Prime Minister,” Radio Pakistan reported. “Help goods include rations, tents and medicines, which are district administrations.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz ordered the president of the NDMA to remain in constant contact with the disaster management authorities of the provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan to obtain better and coordinated help efforts.
Early in the day, the KP PDMA published an update on the cost of death and injuries in the province, as well as damage to infrastructure and loss of cattle
The Buner district has only represented 209 deaths and 120 wounds, according to the report, with 36 dead and 21 injured in Shangla.
Mansehra registered a total of 24 deaths and five wounds, with a similar toll of 21 deaths and five wounds in Bajaur.
According to Pdma’s report, 16 men died on Swat while two were injured. Meanwhile, in Lower Dir, five people died due to thunder attacks and ceiling collapse, with three people injured. Thunder Strikes also killed three people in Battagram.
A total of 159 houses have been damaged, 62 of them completely, while 57 schools in KP have also been partially damaged.
According to the initial details of the Buner Deputy Commissioner’s office, the machinery has been deployed in the affected areas. “However, due to strong continuous rains, it is currently impossible to reopen the road in Gadenzai.”
District officials and rescue teams have already been sent to the affected places in the areas of Gokand and Pir Baba, according to the report, which also pointed out that rescue teams have recovered the bodies in the Aldea de Daggar.
In Swat, two women and several school students were safely rescued by local authorities.
“The situation remains critical in certain areas, and the necessary response operations and help are underway,” the PDMA report cited a statement from the additional attached commissioning office.
KP Rescue 1122 spokesman, Bilal Ahmed Faizi, said AFP That the operation to rescue trapped people under rubble is ongoing.
“There is still concern that dozens of people can be trapped under the rubble … the chances of buried under the rubble survive are very thin,” Faizi said.
He added that around 2,000 rescue workers were dedicated to recovering bodies from the debris and carrying out aid operations in nine districts, where the rain was still hindering efforts.
AFP Buner’s journalists saw vehicles and half belongings lay scattered in the mud, with mud houses and shops. Flooded roads hindered the movement of rescue vehicles, while a few villagers worked to cut fallen trees to clear the road after the water backed down.
Meanwhile, said the director general of KP PDMA Asfandyar Khattak AFP that those missing in Buner “could be trapped under the rubble of their homes or swept by floods.”
He pointed out that in Shangla, dozens of people are also reported as missing.
“There is no electricity or mobile signal in Buner, since electric lines and mobile towers were damaged,” he added.
More than 850 rescued through Buner
More than 850 people have been rescued and transferred to safer places, while 181 bodies have been recovered in the districts of Buner of Gaddizi, Bishoni, Malikpur, Balokhan and other nearby areas that were more affected, according to an update of Buner Rescue 1122 issued today.
“Dozens of houses in different districts have been reduced to debris; agricultural land and infrastructure have suffered severe damage, while lives loss reports are also alarming,” said the update.
In Daggar, the capital of Buner, 30 people died in Gokand, Kot and other districts, while 202 people, including women and children, were transferred to safer places.
A total of 41 bodies of Chagharzai were recovered, while 35 people were rescued in injured condition and taken to the Health Hospital Gulbandi Hospital.
Three bodies were also recovered from the Salmani area of Mandanr and moved to the Hospital of the District headquarters.
“Buner Rescue 1122 staff is continually dedicated to the search and rescue operations day and night in the affected areas,” the statement said.
“Rescue staff and Swabi emergency vehicles have also joined the operation, while Peshawar rescue teams also participate in help activities in the affected areas.”
Rescue teams and district officials are continuously present in the field and on a maximum alert to provide timely assistance to affected people, he added.
Punjab Pdma orders the restriction of tourists to Murree
The Punjab PDMA has ordered that tourists be restricted to travel to Murree and other “vulnerable disaster areas in view of the in progress in Monzón’s activities, particularly in mountainous regions.”
In this sense, a letter from the Punjab Income Board was sent to the Secretary of the Punjab Government, the Tourism Department, the Rawalpindi Division Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Murree.
The government authority requested to restrict tourists entry to vulnerable sites and dangerous to hazards until the current monsoon spell decreases, as well as coordinate with the agencies of application of the law for restrictions under section 144, where necessary.
The authority also requested to guarantee wide public awareness through electronic, printed and social networks regarding security notices.
Meanwhile, the administration of the Dir Dir district, by order of the KP government, distributed compensation controls to the heirs of the five people who died in an incident of collapse of the ceiling due to the rain in the Suri Pao village of the Maidan area.
More to follow
