More than 230 people were killed in Pakistan
just over a week ago after the heaviest rains for 100 years caused flash
floods in Punjab and North West Frontier Province. One village was completely
washed away in the worst affected district of Mansehra in North West Frontier
Province. More than 170 people died in Manshera while the streets of the
capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi were awash. Naheed Maalik of the Pakistan
Red Crescent reports:
The rain started at six in the morning,
quite normal for Islamabad this time of the year. It had been drizzling
on and off during the week and through the night, with relentless humid
heat during the daytime. So the harder the rain fell, the more the hopes
grew for a comparatively cooler summer ahead. The problem was, the rain
did not stop falling. Soon half the city was suffering a power cut - a
fairly typical reaction to rain in Pakistan. But now, the commuters started
getting stuck in traffic jams caused by flooded roads. That's when the
realization hit: this was not a normal monsoon shower.
In Islamabad alone, there was 620 mm of rainfall on 23 July alone - the heaviest in a century. While the better equipped and well planned capital city got away with such a huge amount of rain with comparatively little damage, Rawalpindi was brought to its knees by 170 mm of rainfall. As the waters began to drain away, more and more bodies were being discovered. Fifty people died in Rawalpindi alone and the wreckage caused by the flash floods has yet to be cleared.
Much of the problem seems to have been caused by an underground water channel called a nullah in Pakistan. Nullah Leh rose to 34 feet as the rain kept falling and before long, the multitude of houses and shops on both sides of the underground channel were submerged in 20 feet of water.
'It all happened within a few minutes,' says an eyewitness. 'We rushed up to the top floor of our house taking with us whatever valuables we could save.'
Although the Leh is back to its usual course despite the dead cattle floating here and there, the residents of the nearby houses and the traders with their shops and businesses are in a situation far from normal. Business losses in just one bazaar alone in Rawalpindi run into billions of rupees. Stock damage has been particularly heavy as many shops are in basements. Meanwhile, an estimated 5000 houses have been damaged and more than 1000 heads of cattle lost.
While the situation was bad for city dwellers in Rawalpindi, it was residents in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province who suffered the greatest personal damage. Nearly 170 of the 232 casualties were in the Mansehra district. The village of Dadar Qadeem no longer exists. Built on a dried up river bed, the village was hit by a torrent of water 30 foot high. Huge rocks and trees carried along by the raging water, knocked down whatever came in its path, destroying the village, killing 160 people and injuring many more.
Responding to the disaster in North West Frontier Province, the Pakistan Red Crescent has sent tents, blankets, clothing as well as beds, food and medicines to the area and will be sending additional emergency relief items designed to provide for families for two months. It is also providing medical aid at some of the makeshift shelters which are now housing there homeless in the area. A needs assessment survey and relief work is also continuing in the nearby village of Buner and 50,000 Swiss francs has been released from the Federation's Disaster Response Emergency Fund for further relief work in the worst affected areas.