By Aamir Latif
KARACHI, Pakistan
Raging floods have killed 30 people in northwest Pakistan in the last six days as weather experts have issued a fresh warning for severe rains on Sunday, officials and local media said on Saturday.
Rescue workers found 11 bodies in the suburbs of the touristy Chitral valley, which lies on the Afghan border, and is the area that has been hit the worst by the flood, police said on Saturday. Lightning also struck a carrying people attempting to reach safer grounds, killing one and injuring three.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), over 350,000 people are stranded in different parts of Chitral as a fresh spell of torrential rains and flashfloods on Friday night has hit during rescue efforts.
Pakistani army helicopters lifted around 200 more people, mainly children and women, from different parts of Chitral on Saturday, an army statement said.
Over 3,500 more inhabitants vacated several suburban parts of northeastern Rajanpur district after authorities issued a flood warning, local Geo TV reported.
Thousands others have already migrated to safer ground from adjoining Layyah, Bhakkar, DG Khan and Muzaffargarh districts where swirling floods have washed away hundreds of houses, and inundated large swaths of lands.
Several houses, bridges and roads have been washed away in northern Gilgit-Baltistan region by flashfloods, the NDMA said. Torrential rains and flashfloods have also affected at least two power stations leaving a large portion of the region without electricity.
Landslides caused by heavy rains has also destroyed several houses in a village in the adjoining Ghadr district, however no casualty was reported as inhabitants had already left the area.
The NDMA fears that raging flood from the Indus river could hit certain areas of the southern Ghotki, Shikarpur, Kashmir and Sukkur districts. The meteorological office has forecast more rains in northern and southern parts of the country in the next four days.
