Rescue operations continue as KP areas remain cut off due to floods - Pakistan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohistan tehsil was reeling on Sunday as officials continued to call for help in rescuing people stranded in areas “completely cut off” due to the deadly floods that have laid waste to lives and infrastructure across the country. A day earlier, some 350,000 people were evacuated from Charsadda and Nowshera as powerful flash floods in the province caused the Kabul River to swell, sweeping away a large bridge overnight and cutting off some districts from road access. The chairman of Upper Kohistan’s Kandia tehsil, Anwar Ul Haq, told Dawn.com today that Kandia has been “completely cut-off” from the rest of Kohistan’s areas and there are no mobile phone signals. He added that locals made their way through perilous conditions on foot — with some travelling for two days — and informed him that an estimated 2,000 houses had been washed away in the floods. Haq said there is an acute need for food and medicine in Kandia as cases of diarrhoea have surged. Separately, Lower Kohistan Assistant Commissioner Saqib Khan told Dawn.com that the military has been requested to fly in helicopters to rescue stranded families there since “there is no road route, the communication system and electricity in the affected areas [has broken down]”.

Evacuations continue

Pakistan Army aviation helicopters, meanwhile, flew four sorties to rescue stranded people. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 110 stranded people have been evacuated from Khawazakhela to Kanju Cantonment, Swat. “These stranded people are being provided meals and necessary medical care,” ISPR said in a statement. Stranded people who are struck at a mountain top in Kumrat will be evacuated by army helicopters especially flown from Kamju cantonment Swat as soon as the weather permits, it added. ISPR also shared contact details of a Flood Relief Control Centre established by the Dir Scouts. In case of emergency or assistance is required, please reach out to the Dir scouts Flood Relief control room on the following numbers:

• Mobile 1: 03091311310
• Mobile 2: 03235780067
• PTCL: 0945-825526

Turkiye flying in assistance

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said two aircraft from Turkiye carrying relief goods would arrive in Karachi tomorrow (Monday). “The Consul General of Turkiye in Karachi will hand over the relief goods to the Pakistani authorities at the airport tomorrow morning,” she said in a series of tweets on Sunday. The relief goods include tents, medicines and other items, the minister added. She said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif informed Turkish President Recep Erdogan about the devastation caused by the flood in the country in a telephone conversation on Saturday. Marriyum said more relief goods were also expected from Turkiye.

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