Hundreds of villages ravaged in Sindh

After devastating 500 villages of Sajawal, Junejo and Shahdadkot areas of upper Sindh, the flood wave is now heading to Kotri Barrage.

The cities including Shahdadkot, Qabu Saeed Khan, Mero Khan and Sajawal have been evacuated, as the surging floodwater has been diverted to Qabu Saeed Khan by making breaches on at least ten places in embankments.

The water level in Kotri Barrage has increased to 0.7 million cusecs. An emergency was declared and the army and Rangers personnel were deployed at the barrage.

The wave not only threatens nearby Hyderabad, it can also inundate low-lying areas of Sajawal, Shahdadkot and Thatta. According to the Flood Control Room, another flood wave is likely to pass through the Kotri Barrage on August 25.

However, water level in Sukkur and Guddu barrages has started to drop and water level on Friday was recorded at 945,000 and 955,000 cusecs respectively.

Twenty villages of Hyderabad district in katcha area have already been flooded. Several villages located in the outskirts of Jamshoro have been submerged in water, while katcha areas of Latifabad, Sehrishnagar, Qasimabad and Husainabad are also facing floods.

While in Thatta, three more villages were inundated by floodwater.

Water continues to seep through fissures in protective embankments near Nawabshah.

Balochistan: Meanwhile in Balochistan, hundreds of thousands of people have taken refuge on rooftops after the flood wave entered Gandakah area of Jaffarabad district.

Army helicopters and boats on Friday continued the rescue operation. However, a large number of people were still stranded in floodwaters.

The floods have wreaked havoc in areas located on the Balochistan-Sindh border. Goth Ghulam Muhammad Jamali, Goth Faisal Fakeer Lashari, Goth Mir Doda Khan, Goth Choki Jamali, Goth Mir Feroze Khan Jamali, Goth Janan Jamali, Goth Dur Muhammad Jamali and Goth Ibrahim Zehri have been severely affected by the floods.

Earlier, the Pakistan Army and the district administration had warned the locals to immediately evacuate their houses and shift to safer places. However, people had ignored the warning.