CHITRAL/ISLAMABAD: Melting glacier wiped out two bridges in Chitral area. According to locals, two suspension bridges near the Arkari village in the Garam Chashma area of Chitral were swept away by a glacial lake outburst flood on Thursday.
GLOFs can suddenly release millions of cubic metres of water and debris, leading to loss of lives, property and livelihoods among remote and impoverished mountain communities.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported the development and said teams have been dispatched to the area to help locals who used the bridges to cross a storm drain flowing underneath.
Chitral PDMA official Rasheed Khan informed media that, so far, no loss of life or damage to any other infrastructure has been reported. The floods, however, damaged wheat and other fruit crops in the area, he added.
The PDMA was in constant contact with the district administration and monitoring the situation in the area, he said.
Separately, in a statement, PDMA DG Sharif Hussain said that the control room in the area is fully operational. “Residents can call on our helpline 1700 in case of any emergency or untoward incident,” he added.
Last month, a similar incident took place when Hassanabad bridge on the Karakoram Highway in Hunza was destroyed and swept away in a GLOF event. Authorities had said that the glacier melted because of intense heat.
In April, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman had cautioned that due to an increase in regional temperatures, there was a possibility of glacial lake outburst flood events and flash floods in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In an advisory note, the ministry had issued an official warning to the organisations concerned, drawing their attention to the possible occurrence of GLOF and flash floods in the GB and KP regions, with the direction to take precautionary actions in an effective and timely manner to prevent any losses.
