KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province said on Sunday they have declared 10 districts in the region as “calamity-hit” after heavy monsoon rains led to flooding and claimed two more lives in the past 24 hours.
Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan in terms of land mass, is sparsely populated and one of the least developed regions in the country.
The absence of strong infrastructure makes it particularly vulnerable during monsoon seasons, leading to significant losses as seen two years ago when heavy rains submerged much of Pakistan and nearly 1,700 people were reported dead by state institutions. According to a senior Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) official in Quetta, the two latest casualties in Balochistan included a child who was swept away by floodwaters in the Killa Saifullah and Chaman districts on Saturday. He added this took the number of total rain-related casualties in the province to 31 since monsoon began in July.
“The provincial government has declared 10 districts as calamity-hit following the torrential rains and floods, but three more districts, Harnai, Killa Saifullah and Khuzdar, are likely to be declared disaster-affected as well,” Younus Aziz, in charge of the PDMA control room in Quetta, told Arab News over the phone.
He said the Quetta-Chaman railway track was destroyed due to heavy rains and flooding, while a historical 3.91-kilometer tunnel in the mountainous area of Shela Bagh had been blocked by flood water and mud, suspending train service between Quetta and the Chaman town on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Asked about the situation in the coastal region after the Pakistani authorities warned fishermen in Balochistan to stay away from the sea due to Cyclone ASNA, he said the weather conditions was gradually normalizing.
“The situation in the coastal areas of Balochistan is normal but rains and thunderstorms are expected in Gwadar, Jewani, and other places along the coastline,” he added.