Gilgit [PoGB], August 23 (ANI): More than 300 homes and many shops were damaged in the Ghizer district of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) due to a glacier burst, landslide, and flooding on Friday, according to an initial government assessment reported by Geo News.
A glacial lake outburst (GLOF) triggered flooding that caused extensive destruction, resulting in the formation of an artificial lake on Friday morning. Numerous villages were inundated, leading to significant financial losses. However, there were no reported casualties, Geo News said.
An earlier report from the district administration indicated that the water level in the temporary lake created by the calamity has started to recede, alleviating concerns of further destruction. The flooding impacted a total of 330 houses across the villages of Tildas, Miduri, Mulaabad, Hawks Thangi, Rawshan, and Goth, with numerous shops also suffering major losses.
Yasin, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Gupis, said there is an urgent need for tents, food supplies, and other essential relief items for the families displaced by the disaster. Officials confirmed that water is now flowing out of the artificial lake through a natural spillway, helping to lower its level and reduce the risk of erosion in the surrounding low-lying areas.
Senior official Sher Afzal from Ghizer said some homes upstream remain submerged, but the feared inundation of thousands more has been averted since the spillway was opened. He cautioned, however, that it will take time for floodwaters to recede from already affected homes, Geo News reported.
The landslide, accompanied by the sudden GLOF, wreaked havoc in the villages of Rawshan and Tildas early Friday morning. An artificial lake stretching more than seven kilometers flooded farmland and washed away portions of roads. Locals claimed that approximately 80 percent of Rawshan village was destroyed.
Authorities have warned that the natural dam at Rawshan remains precarious and could breach under excessive pressure. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a high alert for glaciated areas, forecasting further rainfall beginning today (August 23).
The disaster in Ghizer adds to a series of glacial lake outburst floods that have hit northern Pakistan this season, with four confirmed incidents already damaging homes, crops, and transportation links in the valleys of PoGB and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Experts warn that rising temperatures are accelerating glacier melt, increasing the likelihood of such disasters in the future, according to Geo News. (ANI)
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