ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: With water flows continuing to increase at Guddu and Sukkur, weather pundits have forecast an extended rainy spell, at times heavy, raising fears of aggravation of the ‘super flood’ in the Indus and flooding in Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities in 24 to 36 hours.
At the same time, water flows have started rising once again at Tarbela, Nowshera, Kalabagh and Chashma in the Indus and Kabul rivers and near Punjnad, indicating that the flood situation would persist much longer than earlier predicted.
The highest ever peak of flood moved from Skardu to Tarbela on Sunday afternoon and the Lahore-based Flood Forecasting Division expressed fears that it might cause extensive damage.
A fresh advisory issued by the Pakistan meteorological department (PMD) in the evening forecast widespread rainfall in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir.
“Widespread, at times heavy, rainfall is expected in Sindh during the next 24-36 hours. Flooding is possible in Karachi, Hyderabad and other urban areas. Further, heavy rain may aggravate Indus river flooding in Sindh,” PMD chief Dr Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry said.
Widespread rain and thundershowers have also been forecast for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Kohat, Peshawar, Hazara, Mardan and Malakand divisions, till Tuesday, resulting in the further flooding of the Kabul, Tochi, Gambila, Kalpani, Kurram, Swat, Chitral, Panjkora, Khiyali and Jindey rivers and nullahs in two to three days.
In Punjab, widespread rains and heavy thundershowers are expected in Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Lahore and Faisalabad, raising fears of hill torrents in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur. Heavy rainfall is also expected in Azad Kashmir.
In Balochistan, scattered rain and thundershowers with isolated heavy falls are expected in Zhob, Barkhan, Jhal Magsi, Kohlu, Naseerabad, Lasbela and Sibi, which may cause flooding.
The Met Office said that river flows that had declined from 523,000 cusecs on Friday to 436,000 cusecs on Sunday were likely to again attain a ‘high’ flood level of up to 650,000 cusecs. Read More at Dawn News
