Heavy rains wreak havoc in Balochistan

Quetta: The death toll in the monsoon heavy rains with strong winds reached 37.

According to details, the deceased include six women of a Nomad family in Quetta and more bodies were recovered from different areas of the province, who were swept away in the last night flash flood.

The Balochistan government has immediately declared an emergency in district Quetta in view of the natural calamity which destroyed dozens of mud and makeshift houses in the provincial capital Quetta and other rain-affected areas of northern and central Balochistan which were receiving continuous heavy rains since the last 24 hours.

The concerned authorities have issued a high alert across the province more heavy rains were predicted by the meteorological department and said that the ongoing monsoon spell will continue for next three more days. Army, FC, and levies forces were also put on high alert to deal with any untoward situation.

In the port city of Gwadar, army troops reached to help local administration as in the old city and other areas the rainwater accumulated due to heavy rain the coastal town received early morning and its was continuing throughout the day with small intervals.

Officials said that over 50 mud houses collapsed in Sariab mills, eastern bypass and another area on the outskirts of Quetta in the flash flood because of heavy rains with thunderstorms that caused at least 10 deaths. “Six women of Nomad family were killed when the huge wall of a house fell on the makeshift house of the Nomads due to rain and strong winds,” the members of the grieved family said, adding that two women succumbed to their injuries as there were no arrangements to take them to hospital. The family belongs to the Jaffarabad area of Balochistan and comes to Quetta to spend the summer season along with other families living in makeshift houses.

The officials of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that four bodies of the rain victims were also recovered from the flood water accumulated in the eastern bypass, Kharotabad and other areas.

Two girls who drowned in a water pond were also recovered who was missing since last night. The PDMA was informed by police about the girls but there was no response last night. However, the PDMA divers launched a search operation on Tuesday in a boat where the flood water had accumulated as a result of last night’s heavy rain.

“The body of a girl was recovered by the divers of PDMA from A pond,” officials said.

Two women were also killed in Dasht area Mastung district when a wall of their house fell on them after receiving heavy rains.

PDMA officials said that two young sisters were also drowned in a deep pond in Bhosa Mandi area last night.