The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Tuesday warned of a heightened risk of glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as over 200 stranded tourists were rescued from GB’s Diamer district as heavy floods battered the region.
The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as cloudburst-induced floods wreaked havoc across the region. The flood-related death toll in the region rose to five today, after four lost their lives and 15 went missing yesterday in Diamer’s Babusar area.
In its alert, the PMD warned that the prevailing weather conditions increased the risk of Glofs, flash floods and landslides in vulnerable glaciated regions of GB and KP.
It forecast that the wet spell was likely to continue and could affect GB and KP in the current week, adding that scattered rain and thunderstorms, with isolated heavy falls, were expected in both regions.
The death toll in GB since yesterday currently stands at five, according to Diamer District Commissioner Attaullah Kakar.
GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said in a statement: “More than 200 rescued tourists have been shifted to Chilas and provided shelter in hotels and guest houses.”
He added that the tourists were now able to contact their families after being stranded for hours.
DC Kakar detailed that rescue operations were still underway to look for missing tourists, while four of the five deceased have been identified. According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abdul Hameed, 20 to 30 tourists from different parts of the country might be missing.
According to DC Kakar, the Force Command Northern Areas (FCNA) of the Pakistan Army has been providing medical assistance and food to stranded tourists on Babusar via helicopters.
“One of the five bodies will be transported via helicopter later today,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Diamer administration declared a state of emergency along Thack-Babusar Road, suspending all tourist movement between Zero Point and Babusar Top.
A notification by Diamer District Magistrate Ataur Rehman, seen by Dawn.com, said all travellers “should be stopped at both ends” of the road until further notice.
“All tourists and local residents are strongly advised to evacuate to designated safe zones immediately and to avoid any travel on Babusar Road until its complete rehabilitation,” the notification read.
An emergency control room was also established that will operate “round the clock”. It can be contacted at 05812-920181 and 05812-930037. The district magistrate also ordered six companies to dispatch at least two excavators each to the Babusar area to assist in road rehabilitation and retrieval of bodies, if any.
Muhammad Ali, a local social worker, told Dawn.com: “Thirty vehicles were swept away by the floods, and most people have been rescued by the locals.”
Shahabuddin, a resident of Chilas, said the local people provided food and accommodation to some stranded tourists in Babusar’s Thak area of Babusar and were also assisting the rescue operation.
All doctors and paramedical staff of the Chilas District Headquarters Hospital were called on an emergency basis, according to a notification issued by medical superintendent Dr Abdul Mobin.
Outlining the damage caused by the floods in a statement, DC Kakar said that more than 100 houses had been fully damaged in GB in the recent torrential rains.
Faraq told Dawn.com: “In Babusar, a wheat depot, a girls’ school, a police checkpoint, a tourism police shelter and four bridges have been washed away, while two mosques and a windmill have also been damaged.
Efforts underway to re-open Karakoram Highway
The process of removing debris and re-opening the Karakoram Highway (KKH) was underway by the Pakistan Army, Frontier Works Organisation, National Highway Authority and the GB administration, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
“Several points from Thalichi to Chilas have been cleared. Similarly, traffic has been restored at Jaglot-Skardu road,” the report said.
It added that the process of road clearance was underway in Tatta Pani and Jalipur, while heavy machinery had been dispatched to reopen three points at Gandola Nullah.
“Babusar road was still blocked due to heavy mud on the road, but authorities have been instructed to reach the area,” Faraq said earlier today.
The GB government spokesperson shared that construction has begun on the restoration of highways and connecting roads, after the floods damaged a portion of the KKH, stranding tourists.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to provide every possible assistance and rehabilitation facilities to the flood-affected people across the country, Radio Pakistan reported.
In their separate statements, they directed relevant departments to accelerate relief activities in the affected areas, as well as expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives due to rains.
‘Hundreds’ of stranded tourists rescued in Skardu
Skardu Rescue 1122, in its WhatsApp channel, said three people were injured due to the flood in the Sadpara village, while the deluge has also hit the Kharmang district.
Ghulam Muhammad, spokesperson for the Baltistan Division Police Department, said in a statement: “In Deosai, 413 tourist vehicles were stranded on the road connecting Sadpara and Deosai, after it was closed at ten different points due to the floods.”
According to the spokesperson, the stranded people were rescued by the police and shifted to Skardu in the morning after the damaged roads were restored overnight.
He said, “Heavy rain in Skardu triggered flash floods in Barge Nullah, Dhagyol Nullah and Shagri Bala Nullah on the outskirts of the city.”
“The flood water entered homes and caused severe damage to public infrastructure and crops,” the official added.
NDMA issues landslide alert
According to an NDMA advisory, the following areas in the country’s north may potentially face landsliding: Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza, Astore, Diamer, Ghanche in GB; Muzaffarabad, Neelum, Haveli, Bagh, Poonch in Azad Jammu and Kashmir; and Chitral, Dir, and Kohistan in KP.
In these areas, the following roads have been identified as prone to landsliding: Kohistan Road, Kolai Palas Road, Jaglot Road, Nagar Road, Hunza Road, Tatta Pani Road, Jaglot Skardu Road.
The NDMA advised citizens to avoid travelling to mountainous areas and directed authorities to remain alert in case of an emergency.
On June 26, the GB Disaster Management Authority issued a warning of increased risk of glacial lake outburst floods (Glof) and flash floods. The public and tourists were advised to avoid going near rivers, streams and other waterways, and avoid bathing or washing clothes in streams since the water flow can reach dangerous levels.
In KP, the tourism department established a flood emergency response unit and appointed six focal persons for different areas of the province.
A notification issued by the department’s secretary Abdul Samad today, seen by Dawn.com, said that the unit was in the office of KP Culture and Tourism Authority with the helpline number 1422.
Two swept away in Rawalpindi’s DHA
Separately, rescue efforts were underway after a retired army officer and his daughter went missing after the car they were in was swept away by the rainwater drain in Rawalpindi, according to the police.
Retired Colonel Ishaq Qazi, aged approximately 62–64 years and a resident of Defence Housing Authority Phase 5, “left his home along with his daughter, aged around 25 years, in a grey Honda City vehicle”, said a statement by Islamabad’s Sihala police station.
“Due to heavy rainwater accumulation on a nearby road, their vehicle stalled. While Colonel Ishaq attempted to restart the car, the flow of water intensified, and both individuals were swept away by the rainwater drain,” it added.
A search operation by the police, Rescue 1122, DHA Phase 5 staff and a team of divers was underway, the statement said. A car bumper was recovered later as the search went on.
A video showed a man steering the vehicle in accumulated floodwater, with a person in the back waving their hand out. The car took a short, sharp slide downwards, after which it got swept away in the water, as some people gathered on a nearby bridge.
Rain-related death toll rises to 234
Monsoon rains, which fall across the region from June to September every year, continue to lash many parts of the country.
According to the NDMA’s website, monsoon rains since June 26 have killed 234 people across the country and injured 596. Of these, 13 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
The majority of casualties were recorded in Punjab, the country’s most populous province, with 135 deaths and 470 injuries. KP reported 56 fatalities, Sindh 24, Balochistan 16, two in Azad Kashmir and one death in Islamabad.
Over 61 per cent of nationwide deaths were caused by house-collapse incidents. Monsoon rains so far have damaged 826 houses and led to the deaths of 203 livestock.
A spokeswoman for the agency told AFP that the heavy rains usually start later in the monsoon season.
“Such death tolls are usually seen in August, but this year the impact has been markedly different,” she said.
PTA directs telecom operators to ensure uninterrupted services
Separately, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued an advisory to telecom operators, directing them to ensure uninterrupted services and maintain contingency plans for emergencies amid the ongoing floods.
A press release by the PTA said: “The advisory stresses the protection of telecom infrastructure in high-risk areas, availability of critical resources, immediate reporting of service disruptions, and dissemination of flood-related information to the public.”
“Operators have been advised to ensure the continuity of essential services, deploy trained teams, coordinate with local authorities, and efficiently address consumer complaints in affected regions.”
The PTA also activated its National Emergency Telecommunication Coordination Centre and established contact points at its headquarters and zonal offices for real-time coordination, the statement said.
The authority affirmed it was “closely monitoring the situation and will keep the public updated on service restoration efforts in flood-affected areas”.
Additional input by Zahid Imdad and Umaid Ali