LARKANA: Over 50,000 marooned souls had to start leaving Warah town of Qambar-Shahdadkot district moments after the deputy com­missioner on Saturday evening warned the entire population of an imminent threat of heaviest flooding ever to hit their already inundated houses and other structures, besides farmlands, any time.

The district, like other parts of Sindh, had witnessed unprecedented rains and flooding last month that had caused widespread destruction. The situation had constantly been turning grave with each passing day over the last couple of weeks.

However, breaches in the dykes of FP Bund and Ghar Drain aggravated flooding as deluges brought all kinds of structures under several-feet-high water in the localities lying in depression. The rainwater has surrounded the entire town.

An education officer hailing from the town told Dawn that roughly over 90pc population had moved out of the town but those staying on had their lanes on highlands.

Several other towns and hundreds of villages in Qambar-Shahdadkot district vulnerable

The fear-stricken people were finding it difficult to choose a safe route after leaving the town but most of its link roads have either been battered or they are flooded.

Gaji Khuhawar town

Gaji Khuhawar, a main town of the district with the population of about 10,000, was submerged when deluges gushing from breached Suprio Bund and Naseer Shakh (irrigation channel) in its western side hit it. The town’s roads leading to Warah and Mehar were flooded leaving only one route, Nasirabad road, for them open to move to some safe place, sources said.

Transport operators were charging exorbitantly high fares from people in distress.

Many panicked migrant families were using boats to get out of their flooded localities leaving all their belongings behind, the sources added.

The rescue and relief operation by the army was under way and ration was being distributed among the displaced families daily.

Shahdadkot

Flood water coming from Garhi Khairo posed a threat to Sahdadkot. In order to save it, three cuts were given to the dykes of Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) to allow flows in the drain.

Water flows towards ‘zero point’ of FP Bund and then towards Hamal Lake before travelling to the west to enter Manchar Lake through the Main Nara Valley (MNV) Drain.

The floodwater has already encircled Qubo Saeed Khan town after entering into basic health unit, police station and certain localities in the depression. Cuts given a couple of days back to Qambar-Shahdadkot road near Selra had become inevitable after deluges coming from Balochistan and breaches in seem nullahs (saline drains) posed a threat to certain other areas of the town.

On Sunday, an 80-foot-wide breach had occurred in the Shahdadkot drain near village Gaman Faqeer Khoso. There were reports that Karam Ali Gopang village was submerged and gushing water was posing a threat to Mirokhan town. Local people were making efforts on their own to plug the breach but the irrigation staff concerned could not turn up to join them.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2022