QUETTA, July 12: The situation in the Jaffarabad and Jhal Magsi districts remained serious on Thursday as over a dozen villages in the Gandakha tehsil were inundated, washing away hundreds of homes.

The floods also affected Saindak Mining Fields as the Chinese company working on the project suffered losses of millions of dollars. According to reports, power supply to the project remained suspended for several days and the torrential rains submerged the machinery, chemicals and other material there.

Sources said the Chinese and Pakistani workers managed to dewater the mining area and restore production after hectic efforts.

Around 140 villages were reported completely inundated as floodwater was hitting the area due to a breach in Fatuja dyke while water was also coming from Kirthar canal that was also breached. No efforts had been made so far to plug the main Kirthar canal breach.

“Nothing is left in the affected areas of Jaffarabad,” Mir Jan Mohammad Jamali, deputy chairman of the Senate, told Dawn over telephone, adding that the rice crop had also been washed away bringing a very bad impact on the local economy. “The rice crop on at least 50,000 acres of land in the Jaffarabad district has been destroyed,” he said.

According to reports the road link between the Jhal Magsi district and other areas had not been restored as 4 to 5 feet floodwater was still standing in and around Jhal Magsi and Gandawah areas and more rains in the Khuzdar district had added to the miseries of the people as the Mula river brought more flash flood.

“We are making efforts to restore the road link with Jhal Magsi but the floodwater is not allowing us to start work,” a senior official of the local administration said. However, he said that helicopters were dropping relief goods including food, drinking water and other items.

Meanwhile, representatives of donor agencies headed by Pir Murshad, adviser to the National Disaster Management Authority, visited the affected areas of Makran to assess the damage in the coastal and Turbat areas.

In Gwadar they were briefed about the damages caused by rains and cyclone.

They were informed that Pasni and Ormara, two of four tehsils of the Gwadar district, were badly affected. Roads, irrigation system, power supply and other basic infrastructure had been destroyed in these areas. “Around 360 families of Sur Bandar have suffered great monetary losses as their 60 fishing vessels were drowned in the Arabian Sea,” Iqbal Nadeem, DCO of Gwadar, informed the donor representatives.