District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) Dadu on Thursday issued last warning to residents of the entire district to evacuate their houses and shift to safe places following a 20-feet wide breach in FP bund at Hamal Regulator. The provincial government has sent 100 buses, trucks and trolleys to shift 2,50,000 people from Mehar, the district headquarter of Dadu, Johi and some union councils of Khairpur-Nathan Shah to safe places.
The government has also asked private transporters to shift the affected people of Mehar, Johi, KN Shah and Dadu City to Moro. On the other hand, DCO Jamshoro Samiuddin Siddiqui issued last warning to residents of Dal, a union council of Bhan Saeedabad town, and 50 villages in its surroundings to evacuate the areas. Besides, DCO Qambar Shahdadkot has issued warnings to Wara residents due to fast-advancing flood.
As per detail, Flood Protective (FP) embankment at Hamal Regulator developed a 20-feet breach due to overflow of Hamal Lake. A strong current of floodwater was gushing out from the breach and fast-advancing towards Wara, Mehar, Johi, KN Shah and Dadu City.
On the other hand, water from the breach near Manchar Lake was moving rapidly towards Bhan Saeedabad in Jamshoro. Due to heavy rainfall in Shikarpur, Qambar Shahdadkot and Dadu districts, the safety embankments weakened and water overtopped at many points. Due to heavy rains, water level in Manchar Lake increased abruptly. But the spillways of the lake have not been opened.
DCO Dadu Iqbal Memon has issued last warnings to the residents of Mehar, Johi, KN Shah and 11 union councils of Dadu City to evacuate their houses and shift to safe places along with their belongings and livestock. The ring bunds around Mehar, Johi and Dadu City may not bear the pressure of the water. There is no solution and evacuation is the only way to save human lives, he added.
A massive evacuation of people was reported from Johi, Mehar and Dadu City. People using conventional transport, donkey carts and camels were moving towards Moro and Larkana. Dadu-Moro Highway was reported full of people and massive traffic mess was reported. Taking advantage of the situation, the private transporters were charging double fare from the displaced persons.
At least 250,000 people were still stranded in Johi, Mehar, KN Shah and Dadu City. Around 60 percent of Mehar and Johi towns has already been evacuated and 40 percent have started shifting to safe place. People from Dadu City, which was earlier declared safe, have also started shifting and 50 percent houses have been evacuated after the warning from DCO.
Due to breaches in FP bund, the pressure on Main Nara Valley (MNV) Drain increased manifold and the floodwater had started overtopping the drain at various places. The water from the breaches is moving towards Qambar Shahdadkot and Dadu.
DCO Qambar Shahdadkot has also issued last warning to Wara town and asked residents to evacuate their houses. The people from Wara have started shifting to Larkana and Sukkur. About 50 percent people of the town having a population of 2,00,000 have shifted and other people were shifting to safe places.