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Pakistani officials: Swelling lake could cause more flooding

Published:Sunday | September 4, 2022 | 10:33 AM
Victims of the unprecedented flooding from monsoon rains receive relief aid, organised by the Islamic group Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, in Sukkur, Pakistan, Sunday, September 4, 2022. Officials warned Sunday that more flooding was expected as Lake Manchar in southern Pakistan swelled from monsoon rains that began in mid-June and have killed nearly 1,300 people. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

SLAMABAD (AP) — More flooding is expected in southern Pakistan, where Lake Manchar swelled from unprecedented monsoon rains that began in mid-June, officials warned on Sunday.

The deluge has so far killed nearly 1,300 people.

Meteorologists predicted more rain in the region in the coming days and authorities urged villagers in the Jamshoro and Dadu districts of Sindh province near the lake to evacuate.

The rising waters reached dangerous levels and posed a threat to a protective dyke and embankment, they said.

The lake, located west of the Indus River, is the largest natural freshwater lake in Pakistan and one of the largest in Asia.

Fariduddin Mustafa, the administrator for the Jamshoro district, said Sunday that officials made a cut into the lake's embankment to allow excess water to escape and ultimately flow into the Indus. Still, the water continues to rise, he said.

Parts of Dadu district have already been flooded, officials said.

″After we assessed water levels reached (a) dangerous level ... and there was fear that the embankment of the lake might be caved in at any time, the administration decided to make a cut on the Bagh-e-Yousuf side to avert any uncontrollable flow of water,” he said.

Sharjil Inam Memon, information minister for Sindh province, explained that the cut was made to protect the nearby city of Sehwan and the town of Bhan Saeedabad, with a combined population of half a million people. The diverted waters instead will affect villages in the region, with a sum population of 150,000.

The Pakistani military said in a statement Sunday that army engineers were engaged in enforcing the banks of Lake Manchar.

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