The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has declared an emergency in 10 of its districts, which have been worst-hit by floods. These include Swat, Shangla, Nowshera, Charsadda, Swabi, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lower Kohistan, Mardan, and Lower Dir. The common people in urban centres realised the intensity and magnitude of the catastrophe, after watching on social media the video clips of falling posh hotels, collapsing bridges which could not withstand the force of enraged river waters, and entire villages blown away along with residents and their livestock.
In Swat, dozens of posh hotels were destroyed. Flood waters took away more than 200 hatcheries of trout. Over 150 houses were wiped out. The expensive Kalam hotel fell down. Kalam and Bahrain lost their contact with the rest of the country. Many tourists were stranded in difficult conditions. Bahrain, Madyan, and Matta suffered the worst losses. In Charsadda, the bridge collapsed over Munda Headworks, which added to the hardships of local residents. The situation was precarious in Nowshera and Charsadda and Shabqadar, where people had to be evacuated.
But how can the entire population be evacuated, when roads are under water, and there are only two helicopters with the government, and boats are in short supply? In Dera Ismail Khan, 60 percent of the area was under water, including the airport. The flight operations were obviously suspended. Heart-wrenching is the story of five friends in Kohistan. They stood on a mound for four hours, waiting for help, but the KP government could not airlift them. Ultimately, the brutal flood waters took them away into watery graves! In a belated move, the KP government set up a control room in the secretariat.