Heavy rain over the past week has caused flash floods and triggered rivers and lakes to overflow in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces of Pakistan.
The worst hit area is the district of Chitral in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the Provincial Disaster Management (PDMA) report that at least 2 people have died in the flooding. Local media in Pakistan say that around 200,000 people have been affected.
According to the PDMA, heavy rain caused flash floods and triggered glacial lakes and the Chitral river to overflow late on 16 July 2015. Initial assessments suggest that the floods have destroyed over 150 houses, blocked 12 roads and completely destroyed 8 bridges in the province.
Several communities have been inaccessible since the floods began and PDMA say that “A sizeable portion of population has been cut off which necessitates immediate restoration of roads and bridges”.
Affected Areas
Flooding has affected parts of Punjab province as well as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority maps show the flooded areas. The maps are made using data and satellite monitoring from Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and MODIS.
Forecast and Warnings
The Pakistan Meteorological Department say that moderate to heavy rainfall is expected over the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab province.
Scattered thunderstorms / rains of moderate intensity with isolated heavy falls are expected over the Upper Catchments of all major rivers along with Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northeast Balochistan.
Indus and Kabul Rivers at Flood Level
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department Flood Forecasting Division, as of 21 July, 2015, the River Indus at Kalabagh, Chashma and Taunsa and the River Kabul at Nowshera are at Medium Flood Level. The River Indus at Tarbela, Guddu and Sukkur is at Low Flood Level.
Recent Rainfall Figures
The Pakistan Meteorological Department Flood Forecasting Division also reported the following rainfall figures for a 24 hour period between 20 and 21 July 2015.
Attock(Khairabad) – 84mm
Islamabad (Shamsabad) – 81mm
Garhiala – 70mm
Dratian – 57mm
