3161.5km roads and 149 bridges damaged
Besides colossal humans and material losses, the devastative floods have brought havoc to communication infrastructure including roads and bridges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where several upper areas of Swat and Dir districts were cut off from rest of the country hampering relief operations.
Damaging 3161.5 kilometers roads and 149 bridges in Pakistan, the floods have swept away Tangi bridge near Monda headworks in Charsadda district affecting traffic flow between Charsadda and Peshawar while about 200 tourists were trapped in Mahudhand lake due to severe damage of Kalam-Mataltan road in Upper Swat.
Junaid Khan, Deputy Commissioner Swat while confirming trapping of 200 tourists at Mahudhand lake said the district administration was in contact with these tourists, who would be rescued after completion of rescue operation at Mataltan and upper Kalam.
He said that 15 female teachers trapped in a hotel in Kalam were successfully rescued and they had reached Kabal Swat.
According to National Disasters Management Authority, since June 14 to August 27, 2022, a total of 3161.5km roads, 149 bridges and 122 shops were destroyed and damaged during recent devastative record breaking floods in the country including KP. The national calamity has played hovac to roads infrastructure in Sindh where 2,328km roads, 60 bridges and 45 shops were destroyed/damaged by the killer floods hampering relief operations.
Likewise, 115km roads and 12 bridges in Punjab, 6.5km roads and seven bridges in KP, 710km roads and 18 bridges in Balochistan, 710 km roads and 17 shops in AJK were washed away by the gushing water.
Besides 982 human deaths and 1456 injuries, the natural calamity has several affected roads connectivity in upper areas of Swat including Madain, Kalam and Bahrain areas that were adversely affecting rescue operations. Deputy Commissioner Swat said that rehabilitation works at Madain-Bahrain has been started to provide relief to flood hit people.
By today’s evening, he said that Madain-Bahrain road would be reopened for people that would also help expedite relief operations and transportation goods to facilitate floods victims.
