The Karakoram Highway (KKH) was reopened on Saturday as aid and rescue operations continued in Gilgit-Baltistan after flash floods battered the region.
The devastating impacts of climate change have become more visible in GB as unprecedented heatwaves, erratic weather patterns and glacial melting have triggered cloudbursts and intense floods across the region.
On Monday, floods swept through GB’s Babusar area in Diamer district and Naran, causing landslides and leaving many stranded. At least nine people died and more than 500 houses, roads and other infrastructure were damaged as a result.
In a statement today, GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq said: “The Karakoram Highway is open for all types of traffic.”
He recalled that the main artery had been blocked due to landslides and mud flow on Friday, adding that machinery was sent to restore the road.
Faraq further said that rescue and search operations were underway across the region. The recent floods have caused severe destruction in the region, particularly in the Kunduz region and the Ghanche district, he noted.
“Floods in GB have destroyed many houses, water channels, communication roads, standing crops, shops and electricity poles,” the official said.
He added that the local government has distributed “hundreds of tents, thousands of food packets and medicines to the affected people” across the region.
Speaking about the search operation in Babusar, Faraq said, “There may be 10 to 12 missing tourists at the Babusar valley as a search operation was ongoing.”
“The Pakistan Army, GB Scouts, Rescue 1122 and local volunteers are taking part in the operation,” he said, adding that continuous landslides and increasing water flow were hampering the search.
Another rescue operation was underway in Fairy Meadows, according to the government spokesperson.
“Four stranded tourists at Fairy Meadows near Nanga Parbat basecamp, including one man and three women, were airlifted through Pakistan Army helicopters on early Friday,” he added.
GB Chief Minister Haji Gulbar Khan and his cabinet will also hold a press conference today regarding flood disasters and rehabilitation operations, Faraq added.
Earlier this week, the National Disaster Management Authority issued a landslide alert for the northern areas of the country. It advised citizens to avoid travelling to mountainous areas and directed authorities to remain alert in case of an emergency.
GB govt announces free flights for stranded tourists, locals
The GB government had started free and special flights yesterday to evacuate stranded tourists and local people, GB Chief Secretary Abrar Ahmed Mirza noted.
In a media briefing on Friday, Mirza said 135 people, including 80 tourists, were taken from Skardu to Islamabad through a C-130 flight. “A special C-130 flight will start from Gilgit to Islamabad to shift stranded tourists and local passengers to Islamabad,” he added.
He also said that the GB government made the arrangements with the NDMA and Pakistan Army to “facilitate safe evacuation of tourists, patients, and students who were stranded at multiple locations”.
A helicopter service was also launched to evacuate tourists stranded in the affected areas, he added.
The chief secretary further noted, “The main cause of most of the incidents was melting glaciers and cloudburst.”
He said that the cloudburst-induced destructive flood at Babusar valley washed away around eight kilometres of the road leading to Babusar Top, sweeping away two dozen vehicles and leaving hundreds of tourists and locals stranded.
“However, the stranded tourists at Babusar valley and Deosai areas were safely evacuated through timely efforts by locals, Rescue 1122, district administration, the Pakistan Army, Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), and local community volunteers,” he added.
Mirza stated that 12km of roads, 26 bridges, 20 vehicles, water channels, cattle sheds, shops, agricultural lands, crops, private and public properties, irrigation channels, and drinking water supply systems had been damaged in several areas of GB.
“The GB government is effectively dealing with the situation,” he said, asserting the administration was providing aid to the affected places.