Dozens of households in northern Pakistan have been evacuated to safer locations due to flash floods from melting glaciers, local media reported.
“Floods have damaged over two dozen homes, hundreds of kanals of land, crops and trees along the Burgi nullah in Skardu,” a city located in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan in the disputed Kashmir region, the media reported.
Skardu Deputy Commissioner Sami Khan expressed regret over people building homes and structures in nullahs, or ravines, which has obstructed water flow, according to media.“These constructions, built with the encouragement of certain individuals, block the natural water flow and divert floodwaters,” media quoted Khan as saying.
He cautioned that measures will be implemented against those responsible for the encroachments and that unauthorized buildings will be torn down.Water levels have surged in numerous nullahs and rivers across the Gilgit-Baltistan region during the current heat wave, posing a threat of flooding.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) alerted five northern districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of the increased risk of flash floods and landslides due to high temperatures that could spur glacial melting and expected rain.
In Pakistan, which has the most glaciers after the polar regions, nearly all the more than 7,000 glaciers in the mountainous areas are located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Meanwhile, a Brazilian tourist was killed in a paragliding incident in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, officials confirmed, making him the fourth foreigner to have died in the country’s northern mountainous area in less than two months.
Gilgit-Baltistan, a sparsely populated region administered by Pakistan as an autonomous territory, is home to some of the highest peaks in the world and a major tourist destination. Hundreds of tourists visit the region each year for expeditions on various peaks, paragliding and other sports activities.
Last month, two Japanese climbers went missing while attempting to summit the 7,027-meter Spantik Peak in the area’s Nagar district. The body of one of the climbers was found by Pakistani authorities, who subsequently called off the search for the other missing climber. On Wednesday, officials confirmed another Japanese climber had died as he descended the same Spantik Peak after summiting it.
“The accident occurred today in the Shigar district’s Askole area,” Wali Ur Rehman, the district’s deputy commissioner, told media via text message. “The paraglider has been identified as Raineri Rodrigo Chadded.”
Akhtar Shigri, a district official responsible for matters relating to foreigners, said Chadded was part of a seven-member team who were on their way to the K2 base camp.He said of the other six foreigners, two were from France, one was from Bulgaria, two from the United States and one from Switzerland.
