CHITRAL: Flash floods triggered by glacial outbursts and cloudbursts swept across more than a dozen locations in Chitral, disrupting daily life and severing road and communication links with the rest of the country.
The Chitral-Peshawar main highway and Chitral-Shandur Road have been closed to all traffic after floodwaters washed away roads and damaged or destroyed several bridges.
At least two people have reportedly died in the floods. One of the victims was from Brough, while Rescue 1122 recovered another body from the Chitral River. The identity of the second victim has not yet been established.
On Monday afternoon, a cloudburst triggered powerful flood surges in Gumbas Gol and Broz Gol, sweeping away bridges and cutting off Chitral’s road connection with other parts of the country. The flooding also damaged fibre-optic lines, disrupting internet connectivity across the region.
In Gumbas Gol, an elderly man was swept away by the floodwaters. A nearby petrol station was also damaged with several vehicles parked on its premises washed away.
In Karimabad valley, nearly a dozen bridges were swept away, cutting off communities on both sides of the stream and leaving residents without direct access to one another.
A high-level flood also hit Preyit Gol. Although the village itself was spared because it lies at a higher elevation, the floodwaters temporarily blocked the flow of the Chitral River for several hours.
In Upper Chitral, flash floods were reported from villages stretching from Reshun to Parkusap near Mastuj, including Reshun, Zait, Kuragh, Charun, Booni, Oveer, Parwak, Mastuj and Parkusap.
Heavy rain and landslides at Parwak blocked the Booni-Mastuj Road for around 16 hours, leaving more than 150 vehicles and their passengers stranded on both sides. Travellers complained that the road clearance operation was delayed because tractors were initially used instead of heavy machinery to remove the debris.
Near Kuragh, floodwaters also washed away a section of the road running along the mountainside, cutting off road access between Upper and Lower Chitral.
Lower Chitral Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Hashim Azim told media that damage assessments are underway in all affected areas and relief teams were dispatched soon after the flooding.
The National Highway Authority is working to restore the road at Broz and establish a diversion around the damaged bridge at Broz Gol.
The Focus Humanitarian Pakistan Disaster Assessment Response Team (DART) is assessing damage in Broz and other affected areas, while representatives of the Muhammad Talha Mahmood Foundation have also been deployed in Broz and other locations to provide first-response assistance.
The floods brought normal life in Chitral to a standstill. Local schools remained closed, markets presented a deserted look and attendance at government offices was reported to be extremely low as authorities continued rescue, relief and restoration efforts.
Internet service
Internet services across Chitral and surrounding areas were restored after remaining suspended for nearly 22 hours due to the heavy rains and flash flooding.
The prolonged outage caused major disruption for residents, businesses and students across the district.
The service interruption brought online businesses and educational activities to a standstill and disrupted the work of public and private offices.
Local users say internet outages have become increasingly common in Chitral, with even moderate rainfall, landslides and flooding frequently disrupting communications across the region.
The latest outage has renewed concerns among residents, social groups and the business community, who have called for a more reliable and resilient communications network.
They urged the relevant authorities, telecom operators serving Chitral and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to strengthen the region’s telecommunications infrastructure, including through more robust fibre-optic connectivity.
Residents said a dependable internet network is particularly important during extreme weather and emergencies, when timely communication is essential for public safety, businesses, education and the flow of information.
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