Evacuation orders for two KP districts as Flash floods sweep away Munda Headworks bridge

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government issued an “emergency evacuation order” for two districts after the Munda Headworks Bridge in Charsadda collapsed on Friday night due to devastating rain-induced floods in the province.

The Munda Headworks Bridge controls the flow of Swat River. The bridge's collapse has disconnected Tehsil Shabqadar and Prang from the district. The incident took place around 11pm near Charsadda district. Charsadda, Nowshehra, and adjoining areas are at an extreme risk of flood following the collapse of the bridge.

Residents are being moved to safer locations. The deputy commissioner and officials issued a flood warning and asked residents to leave their homes and move to safer places, but people did not take the warning seriously.

Deputy Commissioner Nowshera Mir Raza Ozgen tweeted on Saturday that the flooding destroyed half of the Munda headworks and swept away two discharge control sections. The deputy commissioner warned that the flood water flow is moving rapidly towards Nowshera.

Khyali in Charsadda has a major flood and the water level is continuously rising. The city administration is making efforts to evacuate the stranded citizens. Majority of the flood victims have moved to the highway for shelter. They are bound to spend the night under the open sky.

The KP government asked the army for help as the death toll in the province rose to 238, including 71 children and 55 women.

In addition, the under construction 800 MW Mohmand Dam hydropower project was also affected by the unusual flooding situation in the Swat River. The Mohmand Dam is being built on the Swat River, some five kilometers upstream from the Munda Headworks Bridge in Mohmand District. The total cost of the project is Rs 309.6 billion.

According to a statement issued by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), "the flood water breached the protection dyke and entered the diversion tunnel, which badly affected the construction activities of the project."

DC Nowshera Mir Raza Ozgan said that the district administration wants public support at this critical time. He said that the administration is receiving complaints from many areas that people are not cooperating with the administration in the evacuation process.