Evacuations underway after flood in Manchar Lake

KARACHI/ MIRPUR/ KHANPUR    -   A high flood of 560,000 cusecs will pass through Kotri Barrage late Saturday, the Sukkur Bar­rage control room in-charge said on Saturday, with the un­deterred water causing wide­spread devastation and fatalities in different areas of the country.

Kotri Barrage lies on the Indus River between Jamshoro and Hy­derabad in Sindh, where the sit­uation has been bleak ever since the flooding started last month.

Sukkur Barrage was in high flood as the reservoir received flows of 600,000 cusecs of wa­ter from Taunsa Barrage, said the official.

He maintained that 29,000 cuscs of water had been added to the reservoir during the past 24 hours. In view of the expect­ed flood, all the canals originat­ing from the barrage have been closed for an unspecified peri­od, he added. Flow of 559,998 cusecs was recorded upstream at the Kotri Barrage, while the downstream flow was 559,998 cusecs, said the official.

The high flood was heading to­wards Kotri Barrage, he added.

As per the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD), Kotri Barrage had an inflow of 513,669 cusecs upstream and 503,464 cusecs downstream at 6am today.

Nearly 57 people have died in the last 24 hours as floods con­tinue to ravage the country, ac­cording to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Of the total figure, 38 alone lost their lives in Sindh, 17 in KP and one each in Balochistan and AJK, said the NDMA.

The overall death toll from the devastating floods, which have af­fected millions across the country, has crossed the 1,200 mark. In to­day’s report, the FFD said that River Indus at Guddu and Suk­kur is at a high flood level, while at the Taunsa and River Kabul at Nowshera, the level is low.

The FFD also forecast a fresh trough of the westerly wave ly­

ing over Northeast Afghani­stan and adjoining areas. It add­ed that a weak seasonal low lies over Northeast Balochistan and adjoining areas. “Moderate moist currents from the Arabian Sea are penetrating upper parts of the country at up to 3,000 feet,” the division said.

In the next 24 hours, the FFD said scattered thunderstorms/rain of moderate intensity with one or two heavy falls are ex­pected over the upper catch­ments of all the major rivers. Moderate rainfall is expected in Islamabad, Peshawar, and Rawalpindi Gujranwala, while isolated thunderstorms/rain are expected over Lahore Di­vision. ‘Rising trend of water level in rivers flows, reservoirs continues’

After the continual rising trend of water level in the coun­try ‘s major rivers and reser­voirs the position of the river in­flows and outflows at AJK-based Mangla dam, Tarbela dam as well as Chashma barage along with the reservoirs levels and the barrages remained on Sat­urday as under:~

Rivers: Indus at Tarbela: In­flows 170300 cusecs and Out­flows 169500 cusecs, Kabul at Nowshera: Inflows 73900 cu­secs and Outflows 73900 cu­secs, Jhelum at Mangla: Inflows 25400 cusecs and Outflows 10000 cusecs, Chenab at Mara­la: Inflows 47100 cusecs and Outflows 16900 cusecs.

Barrages: Jinnah: Inflows 188900 cusecs and Outflows 181200 cusecs, Chashma: In­flows: 236000 cusecs and Out­flows 205300 cusecs, Taunsa: Inflows 213200 cusecs and Out­flows 208200 cusecs, Guddu: Inflows 553200 cusecs and Out­flows 553200 cusecs Sukkur: Inflows 560000 cusecs and Out­flows 560000 cusecs Kotri: In­flows 513700 cusecs and Out­flows 503500 cusecs Trimmu: Inflows 38300 cusecs and Out­flow 23100 cusecs Panjnad: In­flows 27500 cusecs and Out­flows 15300 cusecs.

Reservoirs (Level and Stor­age):

Tarbela: Minimum operat­ing level 1398 feet, present lev­el 1550.00 feet, maximum con­servation level 1550 feet, live storage today 5.827 million acre feet (MAF).

Mangla: Minimum operating level 1050 feet, present level 1188.00 feet, maximum conser­vation level 1242 feet, live stor­age today 3.617 MAF.

Chashma: Minimum operating level 638.15 feet, present level 648.60 feet, maximum conser­vation level 649 feet, live stor­age today 0.258 MAF.

The inflows and outflows of River Indus at Tarbela, Jinnah and Chashma, River Kabul at Nowshera and River Jhelum at Mangla have been reflected as mean flows of 24 hours, where­as the other flows have been gauged at 6.00 a.m.

‘Khanpur dam spillways opened’

Khanpur Dam administration Saturday released extra water for three hours as the dam res­ervoir has reached its maximum conservation limit.

After opening the spillways for three hours from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, 6,500 cusecs of water was released. Earlier, the dam administration also warned people living on both sides of the Khanpur stream and made announcements in the mosques to inform the entire area about the opening of the spillways of the dam.