PESHAWAR: Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) has been reported in Golain area of Chitral district due to which multiple houses and cattle have been washed away on Monday.
The district administration officials said that they’ve no information about the human loss due to sudden flooding. A flood-like situation was developed when glacier Azghor exploded due to a sudden increase in temperature. It was reported that a number of trees were also uprooted because of the flood while several houses, shops and crops were also damaged.
After the GLOF, There has been also been flooding in Shahdas stream damaging properties, however, so no human loss has been reported. The flooding has also blocked roads due to which tourists, including the sister of PM Imran Khan, were stranded.
The rescue mission has also rushed to Golain hydel power station to prevent any damage. It was reported that though the water supply to the Station was suspended for some time, however, it continued to producing electricity.
The provincial disaster management authority has said that at least three houses and three shops have been damaged due to flooding and no loss of life has been reported. PDMA added that rescue teams have been sent to the affected areas and have started their rescue work. Officials said the villagers from Abu Baka village were evacuated to safety.
Due to climate-induced changes, the district Chitral has been facing severe floods since 2010 while in recent times, the people of Chitral have also faced with Climate-induced migration which is another disaster in the making. This was the 2nd incident of GLOF since 2015. A similar incident had also struck Chitral in 2015, killing at least three people and incurred extensive damage to property and infrastructure of the district
Experts believe that the government department dealing with the phenomenon lacks technical expertise as well as tools and funds required for the mammoth problem they’re faced with.
