ISLAMABAD, 14 February 2005 — The death toll from two weeks of heavy rains and snow in Pakistan reached 424 yesterday with reports of more dam breaks in Balochistan.
Across northern Pakistan and in Azad Kashmir, 209 people have been killed as a result of several avalanches and flooding since Friday.
Two small dams collapsed Saturday in Balochistan in the same area where heavy rains caused another dam to break on Thursday. The total number of known dead from the three dams breaks was put at 215 with hundreds more missing.
Troops in helicopters brought badly needed relief supplies to flood-swamped villages. Hungry survivors, their homes and livestock swept away when the dam burst on Thursday, huddled on high ground.
Seven people died when they were swept away by a wall of water that was released from one of the two dams that collapsed Saturday.
About 4,000 troops backed by helicopters, coast guard boats and C-130 transport planes hauled food, medicine and tents to the Pasni town area, close to where the 150-meter-long Shadikor Dam burst Thursday, sweeping people into the Arabian Sea. The Pakistan Red Crescent sent tents, blankets, tarpaulins and 40 tons of food.
The torrent of water left only empty land in its wake. Downstream from the dam, nine small villages — home to 800 to 900 people — were swept away. Provincial authorities say at least 200 have died in the flooding across Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest and poorest province.
“The water started flowing very fast and with a big noise,” recounted Mohammed Rafiq, a 30-year-old shepherd, who moved his family to higher ground as floodwaters rose. “The water washed away our homes, our goats and cattle.”
The water level has since dropped, but huge tracts of coastal land remain submerged. Reporters traveling by military helicopter to the scene could see vehicles stranded on the coastal road to Pasni, where at least two bridges had collapsed.
Four medical camps have been set up around Pasni, about 1,900 km (1,180 miles) southwest of the capital Islamabad. Lt. Cmdr. Noor Ahmed, a navy doctor, said he had been at two of the camps and they had treated about 300 people — including a 26-year old woman, Gul Bibi, who gave birth in camp to a healthy baby boy on Friday.
Ahmed said the main problem for villagers now was a shortage of drinking water.
In North West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan, more than 100 people are confirmed dead, said Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani. Some houses are still buried by snow or landslides in the areas of Swat and Kohistan, he said.
Also, 24 soldiers deployed in the region’s snowbound Tirah Valley were missing, said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan. Sixteen others were rescued Saturday.
In the Pakistan-held portion of Kashmir, officials reported 18 more fatalities. Two soldiers were killed by avalanche at a remote outpost, and 16 civilians were buried by snow in their homes in the Neelum Valley. Roads into affected areas were blocked and helicopters were grounded by bad weather.
— Additional input from agencies
