Balochistan communication links snapped by floods

QUETTA: Already battered by flash floods, Balochistan lost communication with the rest of the country after overnight rains as the nation struggles to cope with the humanitarian disaster, officials said.

Historic monsoon rains and flooding in Pakistan have affected more than 30 million people over the last few weeks, the climate change minister said on Thursday, calling the situation a "climate-induced humanitarian disaster of epic proportions".

The destruction of infrastructure and breakdown in communication links adds to the difficulties faced by the authorities in rescue and relief efforts in the region.

Pakistan has called on the international community to help as it struggles to cope with the aftermath of torrential rains that have triggered massive floods, killing more than 900 people.

The air, road and rail networks in Balochistan are already suspended, cutting it off from the rest of the country.

“Due to torrential rains and flash floods in Balochistan optical fibre cable, voice and data services have been impacted in Quetta and rest of the main cities of the province,” Pakistan Telecom Authority (PTA) said on Twitter.

Due to torrential rains & flash #floods in #Balochistan and damage to optical fibre cable, voice and #data services have been impacted in Quetta, Ziarat, Khuzdar, Loralai, Pashin, Chaman, Panjgor, Zhob, Qila Saifullah and Qila Abdullah.

— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) August 26, 2022

Efforts are being made to resolve this unprecedented situation, it added.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Twitter on Friday he had met ambassadors and other senior diplomats in Islamabad "as part of efforts to mobilize all resources."

As part of efforts to mobilize all resources, I met Islamabad-based ambassadors, high commissioners & senior members of diplomatic corps today to sensitize them about scale of human tragedy. EAD & NDMA briefed the meeting about the current status of the challenge & response.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 26, 2022

A major railway bridge washed away between Kolpur and Mach in Bolan Pass, cutting off Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan, from the rest of the country for an indefinite period, officials said.

All four highways linking Balochistan with other provinces were blocked because of damaged bridges and landslides.

So far, more than 235 people were killed in the province and hundreds of thousands lost their homes, the authorities said.