PM Shehbaz directs NDMA to provide maximum relief to flood-affected people

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to mobilise all available resources to provide all-out assistance and relief to people affected by floods, Pakistan Television (PTV) reported.

While chairing a meeting with NDMA Chairman Inam Haider Malik, PM Shehbaz stressed the need for effective coordination between the authority and relevant provincial institutions, including the provincial authorities.

Chairman NDMA briefed the prime minister on the country’s climatic situation, particularly the flood threat arising from the ongoing spell of monsoon rains. He also apprised him of the relief operations in flood-hit areas and measures being taken for the rehabilitation of affected communities.

PM Shehbaz appreciated the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and modern technology at the National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC).

Malik said relief operations would continue in flood-affected areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir with the support of the federal government.

The prime minister directed the relevant authorities to ensure that relief and assistance reached the affected people sans delay and that all available resources were deployed to mitigate the impact of the floods.

PMD forecasts rain, thunderstorms across Pakistan over the next 24-36 hours

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD’s) Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) warned of a possible rise in water levels in the Ravi and Chenab rivers, with both likely to attain low flood levels over the next 24 to 36 hours amid forecast rainfall in upper catchment areas.

Read: Fresh rains trigger flood risk

According to the FFD, the Tarbela Reservoir was currently at its maximum conservation level and operating at full capacity, while the Mangla Reservoir was 68% filled. Moreover, the Indus River at Tarbela, Kalabagh and Chashma is currently flowing at a low flood level downstream.

The department also forecast scattered rain, wind and thunderstorms, with isolated heavy falls, across the upper catchments of all major rivers during the next 24 hours.

It said the weather system may also affect Islamabad, Kashmir and several districts of K-P, Punjab, Balochistan and G-B.

In K-P, the affected areas include Abbottabad, Batagram, Buner, Charsadda, Dir, Dera Ismail Khan, Haripur, Khyber, Kohistan, Kurram, Mansehra, Mardan, Nowshera, Orakzai, Peshawar, Shangla, Waziristan, Swabi, Swat and Tor Ghar.

During the same forecast period, in Punjab, rain and thunderstorms are expected in Attock, Bhakkar, Chakwal, Chiniot, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Jhelum, Kasur, Khushab, Lahore, Mandi Bahauddin, Nankana Sahib, Narowal, Okara, Pakpattan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura and Sialkot.

Barkhan, Khuzdar, Musakhel and Sherani in Balochistan, along with Darel, Diamir and Tangir in G-B, may also receive scattered rainfall and thunderstorms during the next 36 hours.

Furthermore, the department’s 48-hour outlook suggested that the unsettled weather would persist, with scattered rain, wind and thunderstorms, and isolated heavy falls continuing over upper catchments of “all major rivers” as well as Islamabad and Kashmir.