The flood situation in district Jacobabad and its adjoining areas continued to be grim on Saturday as Keti Jatoi bund was breached by Sindh Irrigation Department to save Naushehro Feroze. It resulted in the inundation of two villages and a small town, besides evacuation of residents from these areas.
Khadim Jatoi, DCO Hyderabad, told Business Recorder that floodwaters washed away the entire district. He said 10,000 villages and 52 union councils had come under five to six feet water. Over 700,000 people were also affected. Zulfiqar Shah, DCO Naushehro Feroze, said Keti Jatoi bund was breached as it was an illegal embankment and residents were asked to vacate the area three days ago, he added.
On the other hand, five breaches occurred in Rehri Canal. Due to this, the floodwaters entered Kot Sabzal near National Highway. As many as 500 houses were damaged and 200,000 people affected. The National Highway Authority had opened all the channels alongside the highway to protect the inter-provincial road link. Due to flooding of National Highway, the low-lying areas around the road link came under four to five feet of water.
Khair Mohammed Kalwar, Director Operation, Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said with devastation of Jacobabad, the number of affected persons had reached 2.2 million. He said 42,000 houses were destroyed while over 200,000 partially damaged. Moreover, 43,000 livestock perished. Kalwar said the floodwaters had now entered Jafarabad and Nasirabad in Balochistan.
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