QUETTA: The provincial capital was once again cut off from several towns and cities of Baloch­istan after receiving a fresh spell of rains and snowfall on Sunday.

Also, record five feet of snow fell in Ziarat which, according to local Met officials, was the highest the city had ever recorded in 40 years.

In the first week of March, a deadly weather system inflicted heavy rains and snowfall in the province, leaving several dead and injured.

Emergency had been declared in the flooded district of Qila Abdullah by the Balochistan government.

Pakistan Army aviation helicopters evacuated 1,500 families and relief camps were set up in Makran, Lasbela and other affected areas in the province. The fresh spell of rains began on Saturday night after entering a new low pressure system of rains and continued throughout the day intermittently.

Two feet of snow fell in Harboi hill station in Kalat district. Heavy snowfall was also reported in Kan Mehtarzai, Muslim Bagh, Qila Abdullah, Toba Achakzai and Toba Kakari Barshor. The heavy amount of snow blocked major highways, adding misery to the travellers.

Several vehicles, including passenger coaches and buses, were stranded on the highways. Rail trade and Nato supplies to Afghanistan for US troops were also suspended.

“All kinds of traffic between Quetta, Ziarat, Khanozai, Kan-Mehtarzai, Sanjavi and Kojak pass have been suspended due to heavy snowfall,” Provincial Disaster Management Authority officials said.

“We are trying to remove snow from the highways to restore traffic between Quetta and many other towns and cities of northern Balochistan,” the officials said, adding that vehicles carrying snow-clearing machinery had been dispatched to clear roads and highways.

The Met Office said that a fresh westerly wave was currently affecting Balochistan and is likely to persist over upper parts of the country till Monday night.

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2019