Comment on this story
comment
SEHVAN, Pakistan — The retaining wall of Pakistan’s largest lake collapsed Tuesday after months of heavy rains, threatening hundreds more villages downstream and forcing thousands more from their homes.
Pakistan’s government carried out two deliberate breaches of Lake Manchar’s retaining wall over the weekend to relieve pressure on the structure, but an irrigation official told the Washington Post that the wall began to breach on Tuesday as water levels continued to rise.
A local Department of Agriculture official confirmed the breach but said it was unclear whether it was due to water pressure or whether residents of a nearby town damaged the wall to divert floodwaters away from their area.
Both officers spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
“It is not possible to repair the wall now,” the irrigation official said. He said the government was unable to protect villages in the flood path and he estimated families would have four to five hours to evacuate.
‘No one cares about us’: Pakistanis struggle to survive after floods
Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro confirmed to The Post the appearance of the new breach in the flood wall but claimed that no further evacuations were needed as all downstream settlements had already been evacuated.
The Pakistani government is already struggling to respond to what has been described as a “catastrophic” crisis, and the breaching of Lake Manchar is likely to make access to those in need even more difficult. Anger is mounting among displaced Pakistanis, hundreds of villages remain submerged, and those who have made it ashore are desperate for shelter and help.
Water from the lake flowed down highways and overflowing drainage canals north of Sehvan, threatening to cut off a vital supply route to some of the country’s hardest-hit villages in Dadu and beyond. Roads leading south were lined with peasants herding their livestock to safety.
The agriculture official said the government must act quickly to divert the water escaping Lake Manchar by creating additional fractures along the lake or digging more channels. If water is not diverted, the official warned, over 100,000 more people could be displaced.
The unprecedented flooding in Pakistan has killed more than 1,300 people and affected around 33 million people since it began in June. Government relief efforts are overwhelmed even as international supplies are beginning to enter the country.
The two-month-long floods in Sindh province far surpassed the devastating rains of 2010 – hitting twice as many districts – and have been described as the worst in the country’s history. Officials attribute the unusually heavy rains to climate change.
The floods also came as the country’s vast agricultural regions prepared for the harvest season. Cash crops of rice, cotton and vegetables have been swept away and the losses will cause untold hardship to the farmers who depend on these crops for income.