GWADAR/QUETTA: A man died while over 100 vehicles, including buses, cars and trucks carrying goods, were stranded on both sides of the coastal highway as heavy rainfall in Kech and Gwadar districts disrupted road links on Saturday.

According to officials, four vehicles were swept away in the heavy floodwater in the Sami river while at least seven other vehicles were stuck along with the people travelling in them.

The heavy rainfall, which started in both districts late on Friday night, continued till Saturday afternoon. The rainwater flooded Turbat city and entered houses in Nasirabad and other villages located on the outskirts of the city. On the other hand, the hill torrents created a flood-like situation in the Ormara area and a portion of a Basool Bridge over the Sami river collapsed.

“At least 10 people were travelling in seven vehicles,” Makran Commissioner Saeed Ahmed Umrani told Dawn over phone. However, he said, the army and the Frontier Corps personnel rea­ched the site on time and launched a rescue operation. They rescued all the people stuck in the floodwater by using a helicopter.

Traffic on coastal highway disrupted; seven vehicles swept away in floodwater, 10 people rescued by helicopter

The officials confirmed one death in the Tump area of Kech district as a man was swept away by the flash flood while crossing a seasonal stream. The Levies officials tried to rescue him but in vain. The body of the man, identified as Muhammad Usman, a resident of Tump, was later recovered from the floodwater.

Rain, snowfall and hailstorm also hit various areas of northern Balochistan, including Quetta, Pishin, Chaman, Qila Abdullah, Zhob, Loralai and Ziarat. The Ziarat valley received heavy snowfall that disputed traffic on roads. Sanjavi, Duki, Toba Kakari, Chaman, Qila Saifullah and other areas also received rain and snowfall.

The officials said a vast area of Ormara, Basool, Walida and many other villages were flooded by rainwater that damaged a large number of mud houses as flood water entered the settlement, forcing its residents to take refuge on nearby mountains.

The Makola Dam received heavy flood, forcing the authorities to open its spillways to save it from damage as more floodwater was expected to reach there from the catchment area.

The floodwater coming from the dam’s spillways reached the coastal highway, which suspended traffic on the highway linking Makran with Karachi.

All seasonal rivers in Makran were having floodwater as their catchment areas received a heavy rainfall on Saturday. The army and FC personnel reached the flood-affected areas and launched rescue and relief operations along with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Levies and local administration.

Balochistan Caretaker Chief Minister Mir Ali Mardan Domki has ordered the PDMA to immediately launch relief operations in the affected areas and start rehabilitation of roads.

He instructed the PDMA to keep monitoring round the clock and send relief goods to the flood-hit areas of Makran, Ziarat, Sanjavi, Kan Mehtarzai, Khozak top, Muslim Bagh, Khanozai and other areas.

The CM further directed the commissioners, deputy commissioners and other authorities of the affected districts to take emergency measures according to the weather conditions.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2024