Syed Ali Shah:
Most parts of Quetta were flooded after heavy rainfall and thousands of people were made homeless across Balochistan on Friday. People were making desperate appeals to the authorities to evacuate them to safer places of torrential rains on the outskirts of Quetta, the provincial capital.
“We are stranded in floods since morning”, Muhammad Akram, a flood affected from Quetta’s Ghousabad area told Daily Quetta Voice via telephone. Like Akram, thousands of people were stranded in Ghousabad, Pashtoonabad, Sariab, Hazara Town, Nawan Killi, and other poor and marginalized neighborhoods of the provincial capital.
Thousands of mud-walled houses damaged in Quetta
Flash floods unleashed by continued heavy rainfall also damaged thousands of mud-walled houses located on the outskirts of Quetta. “We have come from Pashtoonabad and sought refuge here”, Ikramullah, an aged person from the Pashtoonabad area said. Ikramullah and three other families had taken refuge below the Zehri bridge.
The people living in poor and marginalized neighborhoods moved towards Quetta’s airport road and sought refuge below the bridges.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), district administration, Pak Army and Frontier Corps (FC) launched a rescue operation in various parts of the city. “We have evacuated a large number of stranded people”, Mir Shehak Baloch, the Deputy Commissioner said.
“I am personally leading the rescue operation”, he said.
After, road, rail, Balochistan disconnected through internet and mobile also
Balochistan remained disconnected through road, railway links for the third consecutive day. Cellular service and internet services were also suspended as a result of heavy rainfall in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan.
Flood affected people faced difficulties in informing the PDMA and district administration about floods and damages in their areas. “We are prone to floods and we have no source to inform the administration to evacatue us”, Jalil Ahmed Rind, a resident of Bhosa Mandi area of Quetta told Daily Quetta Voice via Facebook messenger.
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