GLOF alert issued for lower, upper Chitral

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) issued a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) advisory for five districts after a similar flood was reported from the remote Arkari area of Lower Chitral.

The advisory — issued for the districts of Upper and Lower Chitral, Swat, Upper Dir and Upper Kohistan — warned of a high probability of prevailing weather conditions triggering GLOF events, flash floods, landslides, mudslides and gusty winds in KP’s vulnerable areas.

It said the Pakistan Meteorological Department had informed that due to persistent weather conditions, the probability of elevated temperatures and expected rain spells in the province might increase the flow of river streams.

The advisory directed district administrations to put the population living near waterways and vulnerable locations on alert to avoid casualties and infrastructure damage. “All relevant departments may also be put on high alert for swift response in case of any emergent or untoward situation,” it said. 

On the other hand, a GLOF incident was reported in the remote Arkari valley of Lower Chitral district on Wednesday evening, damaging two wooden bridges. However, no causalities were reported.

According to a report issued by the district administration, the lake outburst was reported in the Rabat Arkari nullah. “A low-intensity flood was reported in the nullah of Rabat Arkari village of Arkari valley, which has now receded,” it said.

The report said the flood could be referred to as a low-intensity GLOF event as the temperature was on the rise over the past couple of days and it was apprehended that it might trigger the flood event.

The report said no major damages had been reported thus far to the public or private properties, except for the Arkari Road, which was washed away by the flood.