ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The flood-stricken Pakistan is likely to witness more heavy rains and flash floods in coming days as they battered the Country last year affecting more 33 million people and causing several casualties.
Referring to the forecast of heavy rainfall issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) stated that the existing westerly weather system is likely to cause excessive precipitation in coming days, especially on March 23 and 24, 2023.
The NDMA asked the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs) and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) to ensure necessary awareness and sensitizing of population in at-risk/vulnerable areas, with special focus given to respective areas prone to hill torrents and flash floods. Likely impacts of this precipitation are flash floods, urban flooding, hill torrents and landslides for areas Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) from March 23 to 24, 2023.
The National Disaster Management Authority warned that Municipal/Urban Areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Islamabad especially in Peshawar, Rawalpindi Lahore and surroundings are at-risk of urban flooding due to widespread rains-wind/thunderstorms with scattered heavy falls and isolated hailstorms.
It also said that there remains a risk of flash flooding due to widespread rains-wind/thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls in areas of Balochistan (Districts Quetta, Chaman, Pishin, Barkhan, Musakhel, Kalat, Khuzdar, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Kohlu, Zhob, Sibbi, Turbat, Awaran & Panjgur), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Districts Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Swat, Kohistan Upper, Kohistan Lower, Kolai Palas, Swat, Nowshera, Mardan, North Waziristan, South Waziristan & Bajaur), Punjab (Rawalpindi & Murree), ICT, and AJ&K.
Similarly, due to widespread rains-wind/thunderstorms with isolated/scattered heavy falls in Districts Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur and surrounding areas there is a risk of hill torrents in both districts.
The NDMA stated that due to widespread rains-wind/thunderstorms with isolated/scattered heavy falls there is a risk of landslides occurring in vulnerable hilly/mountainous areas of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, AJ&K and regions of Murree and Galiyat.
In June 2022, the flash floods triggered by torrential rains caused more than 1,700 deaths, nearly 13,000 injuries, damages to 13,115 kilometers roads & 439 bridges, and destruction of 2,288,481 houses in addition to 1,164,270 livestock having been perished across the Country.
