Following the death of 24 people in Leswa Bypass area of district Neelum Valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K), National Disaster Management (NDMA) has issued another advisory to provincial disaster management authorities (PDMAs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) to take all precautionary steps to deal with the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GOLF) situation.
In a fresh advisory issued here on Monday, the NDMA said that ambient temperatures are still there in the Golain Valley of district Chitral of KPK as a result of raising temperature, glaciers melt is increasing. The concerned authorities are directed to remain vigilant and ensure all precautionary measures. The NDMA has also asked the PDMAs and other relevant quarters to inform the tourists about the weather forecast.
According to the authorities, at least 24 people have been killed in Leswa Bypass area of AJ&K and dozens others including women and children have gone missing after heavy rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in lower Bella village of Leswa.
According to the authorities and a local journalist Amiruddin Mughal who visited the areas, over 150 houses in Leswa area of the valley were swept away along with dozens of people in floods caused by a cloudburst.
Many structures in Leswa's main market, including two mosques, were also completely destroyed. The traffic flow in the area has been severely disrupted, while cell phone and internet services are also affected.
Dr Atiq Urehman, a resident of the Neelum district said that 11 persons were killed in the flash flood belonging to Islamic missionaries from the Tablighi Jamaat hailing from Lahore, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura.
Several people are still stranded in their houses and efforts are under way to evacuate them. Teams including officials from the district administration, disaster management authority and local police are conducting rescue operations in the area.
The flood-hit areas were visited by senior officials of the AJ&K government including Chief Secretary Mathar Niaz Rana along with inspector general of police and other officials.