Highways inundated, power supply suspended as heavy rain pounds Balochistan's coastal areas

Heavy rains have rendered hundreds of people homeless in the coastal areas of Makran division in Pakistan's Balochistan province, reported The Dawn.

The heavy showers, which started in Balochistan on Monday night, have thrown life out of gear by damaging over 300 houses in the area, inundating highways and affecting power supply to Gwadar and its adjoining areas on Tuesday morning. Many parts of the province have also experienced snowfall.

Floods caused in the Basol river after Gwadar received 100 millimetres of rain in about 20 hours, washed away the Makran Coastal Highway which connects the area with Karachi.

Huge losses were reported in different parts of Turbat, Gwadar, Pasni, Jiwani and other areas by the rainwater, the Dawn reported citing the Commissioner of Makran division Shabbir Mengal.

Relief operations have been initiated by the personnel of the army, navy Frontier Corp, police and Levies Force in the rain-affected areas.

Residents of two settlements in Gwadar, Mula Band ward and Koh Bin ward, were forced to leave their houses and seek refuge elsewhere after rainwater entered their homes on Tuesday, reports Indo-Asian News Service.

According to the Dawn, the Gwadar airport runway is waterlogged too with rainwater and flash floods from nearby mountains, suspending flight operations.

Heavy rains have also flooded Swad and Shadi Kur dams. Although these dams still have capacity for more water, the floodwater that entered the pumping station had led to suspension of the water supply.