QUETTA – At least three children died and 16 other persons were injured in house collapse and other incidents on Saturday as heavy rain and snowfall paralyzed routine life across Balochistan, including its capital.
According to Met Office, most parts of the province, including Quetta, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Kharan, Dalbandin, Loralai, Killa Abdullah, Harnai, Killa Saifullah, Sibi, Nasirabad and other areas received heavy downpour, which started on Friday evening.
Snowfall was also reported in Quetta, Ziarat, Mastung, Nushki, Killa Abdullah Killa Saifullah, Kalat’s mountains, Zhob, and other mountains areas.
Two children were killed and seven other persons injured when their mud houses collapsed in Guldar Baghjcha and Killi Taki areas near Chaman, Killa Abdullah district, due to heavy rain.
A ten-year-old boy died as the roof of a house fell down in Khuzdar, while six children, including three girls, were injured as a house collapsed in Sheedi Village near Uthal in Lasbella district. All the injured were shifted to nearly hospitals.
According to reports reaching here, traffic on the Quetta-Chaman National Highway had been suspended after the Baghak bridge collapsed due to flood water. Kozak-Top was also closed because of heavy snowfall.
The rain water entered in several shops, markets and houses in Killa Abdullah Bazaar while the citizens of Quetta also faced difficulties due to submerging of the city’s main roads.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Jam Kamal Khan has directed the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and respective district deputy commissioners to ensure provision of relief goods to the people in rain flood affected areas.
On the directive of Provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Langov, a control room has been set up at the provincial level to address the problems being faced by the public due to heavy rain, while the PDMA personnel were carrying out relief work in the affected areas.
The PDMA has dispatched food items, blankets and other items for the flood affected areas. Cooked food was provided to some 2,000 people of Kuchlak and Kahan areas, who have been affected due to the heavy rain and snowfall.
Levies Force and personnel of other rescue team shifted several families to trapped in flood water in different areas of Killa Abdullah to safe places.
Deputy Commissioner Killa Abdullah Shafqat Anwar Shahwani supervised the rescue operation in the district, besides efforts to restore traffic on the Chaman National Highway and Kozak-Top.
Deputy Commissioner Lasbala Shabir Ahemed Mengal told media-persons that measures were being taken to ensure provision of relief items to the rain-hit people.
Deputy commissioners of Ziarat and Bolan have established control rooms on the directives of Chief Minister Balochistan. The people of Ziarat can contact on phone numbers 0833 920052 and 0333 7806142, and those of Bolan on 083241548 and 0832415203 to seek any help.
Meanwhile, a Levies team supervised by the Assistant Commissioner Dasht cleared Mastung-Karachi National Highway near Luck Pass, which was blocked due to snowfall.
