Urgent appeal for help to cyclone hit areas of Balochistan
June 30th, 2007:
We are appealing To the UN & Governments around the world on behalf of the Baloch people who are in urgent need of your kind support. The region of Balochistan in South East Asia has been hit by cyclone Yemyin, which has affected over two million Baloch people. As a result of this unprecedented natural disaster over 1.5 million Baloch have been left homeless and all transport network links have been destroyed leaving the Baloch people without basic necessities such as shelter, clean water, basic food and clothes. Please help the people of Balochistan as much as you can, any level of support is greatly appreciated and will go a long way in helping the Baloch people at this grave time. Baloch are sad because Pakistan Government refused to call for international aid which Balochistan Government repeatedly requested. Pakistan President while visiting disaster zones himself admitted that catastrophe due to cyclone was equal in category to that of earth quake in Kashmir but each official had their photo taken press conference given and left without doing anything.
Unfortunately Pakistani Govt does not allow foreign press to high light Baloch sufferings, due to ongoing military operation in Balochistan which has already made more than 98000 Baloch homeless though international media has given substantial press coverage without going to scene of disaster. Unfortunately the Press remained busy with other Lal Masjid and other Govt created Dramas where as the plight of flood victims were forgotten off.
Cyclone Yemyin aftermath:
June 28th, 2007: The devastation caused by cyclone Yemyin in the coastal areas of Balochistan
exposes the lack of preparedness of the district and provincial governments to minimise the damage
to life and property. The cyclone wreaked havoc in eight districts, killing more than 260 people and
rendering some 250,000 homeless. The cyclone, which also affected parts of Sindh, gathered wind
speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour amid torrential rains. Hundreds of people have been
reported missing as villages were razed to the ground. Gwadar was cut off as the coastal highway
was badly damaged. The road connecting Karachi and Quetta has also been swept away at some points.
As many roads have been washed away, people have been stranded across the coastal areas.
It is worrying to note that the district and provincial government administrations were conspicuous by their absence before and after the cyclone struck, leaving people complaining about the lack of rescue and relief efforts. A few rescue and relief operations were undertaken by army personnel, but considering the extent of the calamity, these were inadequate. A number of NGOs played their part in evacuating the stranded locals.
Most people, however, had to leave the area on their own, using whatever means they had with them. According to reports, the number of homeless people may increase in the absence of adequate relief operations and the raised water levels in the Mirani and Hub dams, threatening entire villages. The same negligent attitude of the district and provincial government was witnessed earlier this month when cyclone Gonu struck the coastal areas of Balochistan, displacing hundreds. This time, government departments were expected to take appropriate measures in the light of their past experience. This has not happened. In this age of scientific advance, cyclones are not a sudden calamity and can be predicted with great accuracy. No measures were taken despite the fact that the provincial and federal
governments had been forewarned about the cyclone by the meteorological department.
Timely and effective measures are still required to rescue the inhabitants of the coastal areas. Early evacuation could save many lives. The same is true for people living in villages near the dams. The danger is still not over. Reports say another cyclone is building up in the Bay of Bengal, which could move towards our costal areas. It is time the district and provincial authorities built up capacity to deal with cyclones, keeping in view the sparse and scattered population. There is a lot to be done to rescue the local people as dozens of villages have been cut off.
The resettlement of areas that have been devastated by the calamity presents a serious challenge. The department of civil defence, which does not seem to be operational in the affected districts, can play a major role in such situations. The federal government has also failed to realise the extent of the disaster. As suggested earlier in this space, the Disaster Management Cell established in the wake of the October 2005 earthquake should have been utilised. Let this be a wake-up call for the government.
Rabbani slates Govt for ‘poor’ relief work in cyclone-hit areas
Says 250,000 people need immediate relief in Balochistan
By our correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Leader of opposition in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani on Thursday castigated the government for what he alleged “its apathy” towards carrying out relief operations in the cyclone-devastated areas of Balochistan and Sindh.
Senator Rabbani said in a statement issued here that it was a matter of grave concern that despite early warnings of the cyclone hitting coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan, the federal and provincial governments miserably failed to mitigate the suffering of people."The regime kept making empty announcements but failed to set up relief camps or assist the people in evacuating from the affected areas," he alleged.
Rabbani pointed out that in Balochistan today more than 250,000 people had been rendered homeless or severely affected by the cyclone and were in need of immediate relief, which the government had failed to provide.
He said that people still continued to be marooned and awaited evacuation. At least six union councils in the affected areas had been completely washed away.He deplored that the prime minister, federal ministers and chief ministers had not visited the devastated areas or homeless people.
The senator said he contacted Balochistan senators Dr Abdul Malik, Abdul Rahim Mandokhail and Shahid Bugti, who expressed their dismay over the “government's inaction”.
He called upon the government to immediately undertake extensive operations in Balochistan and Sindh so as to provide relief to the distressed people, failing which the joint opposition in the Senate would take appropriate measures in this connection.
Cyclone plays havoc in Balochistan
Quetta (Pakistan), June 27, 2007
Tens of thousands of people have moved to safer places after cyclone Yemyin and high tides hit major parts of Balochistan coast and Ormara on Monday and caused havoc in Pasni and Gwadar towns in southwestern Balochistan province.
The cyclone caused widespread damage but did not claim any life. Home secretary Tariq Ayub said no one died in the cyclone as the government had taken maximum precautionary measures, forewarned the people and helped them to move to safer places, Dawn newspaper reported.
As many as nine persons, including a policeman and two Hindu pilgrims to Hinglaj temple, lost their lives in floods and rain-related incidents in different parts of Balochistan.The met office’s announcement of a powerful cyclone moving towards the coast caused panic among the people, yesterday, prompting them to flee to safer places.
Tidal waves lashed the other side of Gwadar coastline inundating the airport area of Shambey Ismail. The tides also lashed the Pasni airport and adjoining areas.According to the met office, the cyclone was subsiding and forming into a low pressure causing massive rains. Heavy rains played havoc with life, property and infrastructure, disrupting Balochistan’s road links with the rest of the country.
The major bridge linking Quetta with Karachi, near Bela Town, was washed away by floods. More than 800 vehicles, passenger coaches, buses and trucks were stranded.Quetta Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yusuf said a large number of persons were marooned in Lasbela district and it was impossible for government officials to provide them immediate relief. — UNI
Cyclone leaves 250,000 homeless
* Dozens killed
* Cyclone Yemyin enters Iran
* UN official blames bad weather on global warming
QUETTA/GWADAR: Some 250,000 people were left homeless by a cyclone that lashed the coast of Balochistan and killed 22 people in the province on Wednesday.
Torrential rains accompanying Cyclone Yemyeni also inundated dozens of villages and towns in Balochistan and disrupted rail services, communication links and utilities. Twelve people drowned in flood waters in Kalatuk in Turbat district, four in Gwadar, three in Bolan, two in Dalbandin and one in Noshki. Hundreds of people were also injured in their homes when in roof collapses.
The cyclone and the rain left around 250,000 people homeless, said Khuda Bakhsh Baloch, the relief commissioner of Balochistan. People in Kech, one of the worst-affected districts, were said to be stranded by the floods on roof tops and trees.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ordered the immediate airlift of blankets, food, tents and medicine to the affected districts, which were rendered inaccessible by road as the Makran Coastal Highway and RCD Highway had been badly damaged and several bridges washed away. Continuing rain also hampered aid efforts by air.
“People need more assistance. We have relief helicopters ready but the weather is not permitting,” said Balochistan government spokesman Raziq Bugti.
A journalist from Turbat told Daily Times that the situation in the district was worsening as no medical and food aid had reached the area.
Train services between Quetta and Sibi, and Quetta and Zahidan in Iran, were suspended because of damage to rail track, while flash floods ruptured the main gas supply line to Quetta near Dhadar. Flash floods also washed away several dams, which inundated a major portion of land in the Makran region, Balochistan Minister Syed Sherjan Balochih told APP.
Meteorological Department chief Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry said the weather was improving after the cyclone moved northwest into Iran overnight.
In Karachi, one person was electrocuted by power lines overnight, hospital officials said. Officials say another eight have been killed in Sindh province. Online reported that 13 fishermen in the Shah Bandar region drowned, while 89 had gone missing in the Hawkes Bay area.
Rescuers were also trying to evacuate thousands of people from fishing villages on islands off the Sindh coast. Around 150 families were evacuated from the banks of the Malir river in Karachi as it swelled from five days of rain.
UN disaster prevention official Salvano Briceno said in Geneva that the recent extreme weather in Pakistan and elsewhere was only a taste of what could happen in future through global warming. staff report and agencies.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C06%5C28%5Cstory_28-6-2007_pg1_1
Over 900,000 marooned in Balochistan
Troops join rescue work; Sibi inundated; floods wash away roads, several bridges
SIBI: The armed forces joined efforts on Thursday to help up to 900,000 people affected by a cyclone as more rain exacerbated flooding and hampered airborne rescue and relief operations.
The cyclone and subsequent flooding in Balochistan have killed 25 people. Rising water levels inundated a fourth district, Sibi, on Thursday. Three others were severely flooded, said Balochistan Relief Commissioner Khuda Bukhsh Baloch. “Due to torrential rains, a seasonal river has started overflowing and 20 to 25 villages have been inundated. According to our estimates, about 15,000 people have been affected,” Baloch said, adding, “In all, roughly, 900,000 people have been affected.”
The floods have washed away stretches of roads and several bridges, and cut communications and power supplies. Floods also severed a gas pipeline, cutting supplies to Quetta, he said, adding an accurate, updated death toll was not possible because telephone links to remote areas had been cut and mobile coverage was not available there.
The military sent aircraft, including 13 helicopters and three C-130 aircraft, to reinforce civilian rescue and relief operations, although, the rain prevented much flying and many areas were still cut off.
Illustrating the conditions facing rescuers, Minister for Communications Shamim Siddiqui was caught in heavy rains while trying to reach the affected area in a helicopter and was forced back to Karachi.
In one of the hardest-hit areas, the city of Turbat and surrounding villages, the first relief supplies reached some 48 hours after the cyclone hit, triggering the Nazim to hand in his resignation and angry residents to protest.
Four military aircraft also landed at Turbat and a nearby town early on Thursday carrying relief goods and medicines. Some residents said that they had not eaten anything in two days, expressing fear of outbreak of diseases from dead animals and polluted water sources. “We have been saved from the flood but we may die of starvation,” said Mohammed Kash, a teacher at a rural school for 150 children, many of whom were crying.
From a helicopter, an Associated Press reporter saw only the tops of palm trees protruding from under vast sheets of water in some areas. In other areas, people, cows and goats were stranded on rooftops, without water or food and
sweltering in 43 degree Centigrade heat. “We need tents, food, and medicine. All the resources we had are already exhausted. The response from the provincial and government is poor. In protest, I have handed in my resignation,” said Turbat Nazim Abdul Rauf Rind. Rind estimated that about 100,000 people in the urban area and surrounding villages had been stranded.
Hafiz Tahir, a district officer, said casualties could go over 100 but it would be impossible to determine the death toll until the water receded. A 20-year-old woman, marooned alone in her house for two days, was washed away on Thursday and confirmed dead, while Tahir said there was no trace of a wedding party of 50 people, mostly women and children, who were on their way to Turbat when the flooding began. Officials said two bodies were found in the branches of a floating tree north of Turbat.
The situation at a swollen dam near Turbat was still “critical” with water above the danger level, said a statement, adding a battalion of engineers was working to shore up the site. However, a Wapda spokesman insisted the recent rains could not damage the Mirani dam and said the water level had started receding.
“Mirani dam is completely safe and there is no crack found in the dam. Water level also started reducing after touching the danger mark,” the spokesman told Geo News. The Army said it had evacuated more than 600 families in the water-ringed city of 150,000. These included 36 from the rooftop of a mosque who were lifted by harnesses into two hovering helicopters shortly before the roof collapsed. Another 300 were evacuated from nearby Bela.
A Navy helicopter rescued 40 people marooned on a rooftop near Turbat and two other choppers were evacuating car and bus passengers from the coastal highway, which was partly washed away by storm surges. In a separate rescue operation, 35 Chinese workers at the seaport of Gwadar were ferried to higher ground, said Navy Rear Admiral Mahmood Khan.
Navy warships and helicopters have rescued, at least, 125 crewmen from foundering craft, the Navy and the Maritime Security Agency said. A statement from the Army said troops were repairing washed outstretches of the vital coastal highway as well as railway tracks. —Agencies
Muhammad Ejaz Khan adds from Quetta: The death toll in the recent heavy rains and the flash flood continued to rise as, at least, six more persons, including a girl and a woman, were killed while over 16 people were injured in fresh rain-related incidents in Harnai and Chaghai on Thursday.
Reports said that several villages in Bolan, Chaghai, Kharan, Sibi and other districts are submerged in the rain and flood waters, causing damages to the houses and leaving a large number of population homeless.
Four people of the same family were killed and over 16 injured when the roof of their house collapsed in Killi Shor of Harnai. There are reports of more roof collapses in Harnai area but it was not clear anyone had died or was injured in these incidents. Two persons were swept away in the flood waters in Dalbandin.
Traffic to and from Iran remained suspended, when a portion of the road between Quetta and Taftan was washed away in flood. The traffic between Sibi and Bolan is also suspended after a bridge collapsed in the Bolan Pass. Hundreds of passengers are stranded in the Bolan Pass due to the suspension of the traffic.
The sources said that the FC relief teams had rescued over 500 people from Killi Bangulzai of Mithri. The sources said that the relief activities would be launched in other affected areas as soon as the situation becomes normal.
Rail service on the Sibi-Quetta section, which was suspended due to the damage of the track in the heavy rains and flash flood, was restored on Thursday. Meanwhile, inclement weather blocked efforts for rescuing some 400 marooned people in Hangol area and prevented the Army helicopters from launching relief operation in rain-and flood-affected Jhal Magsi, Sibi, Dhadhar, Bolan Naseerabad and Jaffarabad districts, the Balochistan home secretary said on Thursday.
The home secretary, who is also the focal person for the relief operation in the province, said he hoped the relief operation in these areas could be launched as early as Friday. “The helicopters could not reach Jhal Magsi, Sibi, Dhadhar, Bolan, Naseerabad and Jaffarabad districts and returned,” he told a news conference on Thursday. Rescue teams have not yet rescued some 400 people marooned on the Coastal Highway in the Hingol area because of the bad weather conditions and no road access. He did not give any data about the causalities caused due to the heavy rains and flash floods in the province, but said the “casualty figure is not alarming”. Repair work on the Coastal Highway and the RCD Highway is continuing and the traffic could be restored once the repair work is over, he said.
He said some 30 people were rescued from the rooftop of a mosque in Solo Bandar area of Kech just “five minutes before the roof caved in”. The home secretary said the government had enough resources to cope with the situation. “A grant of Rs 10 million each would be given to Jhal Magsi, Sibi, Turbat, Lasbela and Gwadar, while Rs 5 million each to Jaffarabad and Naseerabad for carrying out relief activities.” He said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will visit Turbat on Saturday (tomorrow) to personally review the flood situation.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=8728
Cyclone plays havoc in Balochistan
Quetta (Pakistan), June 27
Tens of thousands of people have moved to safer places after cyclone Yemyin and high tides hit major parts of Balochistan coast and Ormara on Monday and caused havoc in Pasni and Gwadar towns in southwestern Balochistan province.
The cyclone caused widespread damage but did not claim any life. Home secretary Tariq Ayub said no one died in the cyclone as the government had taken maximum precautionary measures, forewarned the people and helped them to move to safer places, Dawn newspaper reported.
As many as nine persons, including a policeman and two Hindu pilgrims to Hinglaj temple, lost their lives in floods and rain-related incidents in different parts of Balochistan.The met office’s announcement of a powerful cyclone moving towards the coast caused panic among the people, yesterday, prompting them to flee to safer places.
Tidal waves lashed the other side of Gwadar coastline inundating the airport area of Shambey Ismail. The tides also lashed the Pasni airport and adjoining areas.According to the met office, the cyclone was subsiding and forming into a low pressure causing massive rains. Heavy rains played havoc with life, property and infrastructure, disrupting Balochistan’s road links with the rest of the country.
The major bridge linking Quetta with Karachi, near Bela Town, was washed away by floods. More than 800 vehicles, passenger coaches, buses and trucks were stranded.Quetta Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yusuf said a large number of persons were marooned in Lasbela district and it was impossible
for government officials to provide them immediate relief. — UNI
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070628/world.htm#1
PAKISTAN: Rains leave 100,000 homeless in Balochistan
28 Jun 2007
QUETTA, 28 June 2007 (IRIN) - Rains triggered by the cyclone that hit coastal areas of Pakistan this week have continued across Balochistan Province in the southwest of the country, home to some eight million of Pakistan's estimated 150 million people.
The unusually heavy rains have created havoc across an area ill-prepared for them, unleashing torrents and floods that have swept away entire villages, according to some reports. Road links across the province have been cut, making both communication and rescue work extremely arduous, witnesses said.
Some of the worst impact of the disaster has been seen in the southwestern district of Kech, around 400km west of Karachi and with a population of some 750,000 people.
The nearby Soorab Dam burst its banks, and water flowing downstream reportedly entered the town of Turbat on 28 June. Waves of water quickly swamped it. Panic-stricken people in the area took shelter on the roofs of tall buildings, including mosques, and in the hills.
The larger Meerani Dam, on the River Dasht, 30km southwest of Turbat, is said to be in a precarious situation and there are fears it could overflow. Local authorities on 28 June began moving people to higher ground, while a state of emergency was declared in the worst affected districts.
Fears that other reservoirs could be flooded have led to thousands across the province fleeing their homes. "The whole province is in crisis," Farid Ahmed, the provincial coordinator for the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), told IRIN in Quetta.
Some 250,000 people affected
"About 250,000 people have been affected by the rains and the cyclone. We are trying to send in what help we can using helicopters," provincial relief commissioner Khuda Baksh Baloch told IRIN.
Twenty four people have been reported dead in the province as a result of the floods, but there are fears the number could rise dramatically as the fate of missing persons becomes clear. Reports say that river waters have swept away entire villages in the Turbat area.
A passenger bus carrying a wedding party to Buleida, to the north of Kech District, has reportedly vanished and is believed to have been washed away. At least 30 people were travelling on the bus.
"Vast tracts of Balochistan are affected. It is impossible to communicate with areas either by land or by telephone. The towns of Dadhar, Gandawa and Jhal Magsi, lying between 100 and 280km southeast of Quetta, are all under water because of burst reservoirs or hill torrents," Farid Ahmed said.
There was "panic" across the province, with people in Quetta unable to contact their families in villages south of the provincial capital, he said.
Aisar Baloch, 35, a resident of Turbat currently visiting Quetta told IRIN his family members were "virtually marooned" and "no help has reached them". He said he was able to establish contact over a mobile phone.
There are also reports that villages in the Mashkhel District, lying to the northeast of Balochistan on its border with Punjab, as well as in the Kharan District which lies south of Quetta, have been submerged.
Over 100,000 homeless
According to initial estimates, at least 100,000 people have been left homeless, but confusion and a lack of communication means district authorities have faced problems in compiling details.
A spokesman for the Balochistan government, Razik Bugti, said: "Army and navy helicopters are busy rescuing people from rooftops and other high areas."
Meanwhile high winds and rain meant that the sea along coastal areas remained turbulent. Ten boats were reported missing and with people feared drowned off the coast city of Ormara on 28 June, and dozens of others had been damaged.
"We are continuing to issue warnings and rescue people marooned along the coast or at sea," a spokesman for the Pakistan navy said
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/3787f3b007f165ac24809fe976f78ac3.htm
Cyclone adds to Balochistan’s misery
Many people have been left with nowhere to live.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from along Balochistan’s Sea coast to escape a cyclone which is bringing more chaos to the south of the country. The navy is searching for a number of boats missing or sunk in the storms.
Officials say cyclone Yemyin is losing strength and has now hit Balochistan province, sparing much of Karachi.
Heavy rain in Pakistan's biggest city in recent days has left at least 200 dead. Reports of damage to coastal areas near Karachi are still coming in. Emergency Cyclone Yemyin made landfall in Balochistan province at about 1100 local time (0600 GMT) on Tuesday, bringing rain, flooding and winds of up to 80mph (130 kph). Officials say that several people have been killed and many were missing on Tuesday.
They say that while the storm's intensity is decreasing, heavy rain will continue for the next few hours along different parts of Pakistan's southern coast. Heavy flooding has been reported in and around the town of Pasni, about 400km (250 miles) west of Karachi, and water has also washed away part of the coastal highway linking southern Balochistan with the rest of the country. Fishermen say more than 200 fishing boats anchored along the coast have been destroyed in the storms. Warnings of coastal flooding have prompted many people to leave their
homes.
The mayor of the port of Gwadar said most of its 120,000 residents had moved to higher ground.
"We have imposed an emergency in the district and asked the army and other forces to be on alert," Mayor Abdul Ghaffar Hoth told the Associated Press news agency. Unconfirmed reports say a number of Hindu pilgrims may have been killed in the heavy rains in Lasbella district as they travelled to a shrine. Out to sea, Pakistan Navy vessels and helicopters are searching for dozens of people reported missing in the storms. A navy spokesman said at least one fishing trawler had sunk and its 12 crew members had been rescued by a navy vessel.
Destruction Days of heavy rain in southern India and Pakistan have left several hundred people dead.
Much of Karachi, which has been worst hit by the weather, is still without power and water.
Officials have been evacuating residents from shanty towns in the city, where badly-built homes collapsed or were washed away by the torrential rain. More than 140 have been killed in the rains in India, where people are also being moved from low-lying areas with more flooding forecast in many areas. There have also been a number of deaths in Afghanistan
Thousands have been left homeless by the cyclone. Bad weather is hampering efforts to rescue more than 250,000 people stranded after a cyclone struck Pakistan's Arabian Sea coastline. Many people are clinging to trees and rooftops to escape floods and are now cut off by rising water. Roads, bridges and phone links are hit in many places. Relief officials say dozens of villages are under water and some 200,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged. In neighbouring Afghanistan, more than 100 people have died in the floods. Hundreds of people have been killed in rain and floods in South Asia in recent days, more than 200 of them in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi. Army and navy helicopters have managed to drop some relief aid to flood victims in Pakistan's Balochistan province, but the military say many rescue flights have been frustrated by the elements. The entire town has been inundated and people have taken refuge in tall buildings and trees Rauf Rind Mayor of Kech
Human cost of storms
A government aircraft flew over coastal areas on Thursday and spotted people trapped on the roof of a mosque in Turbat, headquarters of Kech district which has been badly hit. The stranded residents were later rescued by two helicopters, officials said. Thousands of people in the coastal areas of Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar and Jiwani lost their homes after cyclone Yemyin struck the Balochistan coast, west of Karachi, on Tuesday.
More than 100 fishermen have been rescued by Pakistan's navy Many people in low-lying areas were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the cyclone.
Reports say at least 20 people have been killed since Tuesday, although officials are confirming only two deaths.
Hundreds of motorists were stranded on the coastal highway which links southern Balochistan with the rest of Pakistan. Parts of the road were washed away by the cyclone.
Pakistan's navy says it has airlifted food and emergency supplies to the motorists. Elsewhere, people say they have yet to see any help. "We are hungry, we are thirsty, the authorities say they are sending helicopters but we have not seen any," Hamal Baloch, a resident of Kech, told AFP news agency.
'Out of control' At least one small dam near the town of Pasni burst on Tuesday, inundating dozens of villages.
The floods are also threatening the Mirani dam in Kech district, reports say. One unconfirmed report said water from the dam had overflowed into the area and drowned 12 people. "The situation is out of our hands, it's out of control. The entire town has been inundated and people have taken refuge in tall buildings and trees," the mayor of Kech, Rauf Rind, told Reuters news agency. A senior Afghan official, Abdul Matin Edrak, told the BBC that the majority of deaths had been reported from Ruukha district in northern Panjshir province. Some 500 of 2,500
people stranded in the flood-affected province of Kunar had been rescued by helicopters, officials said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6247884.stm
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Cyclone leaves 250,000 homeless
* Dozens killed
* Cyclone Yemyin enters Iran
* UN official blames bad weather on global warming
QUETTA/GWADAR: Some 250,000 people were left homeless by a cyclone that lashed the coast of Balochistan and killed 22 people in the province on Wednesday.Torrential rains accompanying Cyclone Yemyeni also inundated dozens of villages and towns in Balochistan and disrupted rail services, communication links and utilities. Twelve people drowned in flood waters in Kalatuk in Turbat district, four in Gwadar, three in Bolan, two in Dalbandin and one in Noshki. Hundreds of people were also injured in their homes when in roof collapses.
The cyclone and the rain left around 250,000 people homeless, said Khuda Bakhsh Baloch, the relief commissioner of Balochistan. People in Kech, one of the worst-affected districts, were said to be stranded by the floods on roof tops and trees.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ordered the immediate airlift of blankets, food, tents and medicine to the affected districts, which were rendered inaccessible by road as the Makran Coastal Highway and RCD Highway had been badly damaged and several bridges washed away.
Continuing rain also hampered aid efforts by air.“People need more assistance. We have relief helicopters ready but the weather is not permitting,” said Balochistan government spokesman Raziq Bugti.
A journalist from Turbat told Daily Times that the situation in the district was worsening as no medical and food aid had reached the area.Train services between Quetta and Sibi, and Quetta and Zahidan in Iran, were suspended because of damage to rail track, while flash floods ruptured the main gas supply line to Quetta near Dhadar. Flash floods also washed away several dams, which inundated a major portion of land in the Makran region, Balochistan Minister Syed Sherjan Balochih told APP.
Meteorological Department chief Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry said the weather was improving after the cyclone moved northwest into Iran overnight. In Karachi, one person was electrocuted by power lines overnight, hospital officials said. Officials say another eight have been killed in Sindh province. Online reported that 13 fishermen in the Shah Bandar region drowned, while 89 had gone missing in the Hawkes Bay area.
Rescuers were also trying to evacuate thousands of people from fishing villages on islands off the Sindh coast. Around 150 families were evacuated from the banks of the Malir river in Karachi as it swelled from five days of rain.
UN disaster prevention official Salvano Briceno said in Geneva that the recent extreme weather in Pakistan and elsewhere was only a taste of what could happen in future through global warming. staff report and agencies
Courtesy DailyTimes.com.pk http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/June07/28/05.htm
Further Links
http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?rep=2&aid=380109&sid=SAS
http://www.bso-na.org/Turbat_Teargas.html
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070630/139/6hk7m.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6255920.stm
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_World&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20070630110636554C175610
http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/30/top2.htm
http://in.news.yahoo.com/070630/211/6hk4t.html
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/3787f3b007f165ac24809fe976f78ac3.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6252588.stm
http://www.bso-na.org/Cyclone_yemyin.html
http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?182344
http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/June07/29/02.htm
http://www.dawn.com/2007/06/29/top1.htm
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=9678&size=A |
