RIVER FLOODS
The indus and its tributaries well, and almost every year overflow their banks. The flood in most years are not serious. However every 7-8 years there are severe floods. Serious floods occurred in 1955, 1973 and 1978. In the 80s and 90s serious fllods also occurred causing large scale devastation.
In 1955 a flood inundated 2420 villages, 400 people and 70,000 cattle lost their lives. The Ravi syphon was destroyed. The total damage caused by floods amounted to Rs. 83 million.
In 1973, floods inundated 3.6 million hectares, killed 1600 persons and demolished three million homes.
Preventative and curative measures.
Planting trees on the foothills to check the flow of running water.
Enlarging the river channel so that it can hold more water.
Building embankments on either side of the channel to prevent the spread of floodwater.
Building extra channels to take floodwater away from towns.
Building reservoirs on the river to store water and control peak discharge.
Preventing building in areas where flooding is most likely.
Publicizing flood warnings through radio television and newspapers.
Evacuation of flooded areas and providing necessary facilities for rehanbilitation.
STORMS
Thunderstorms are common in the northern and north-western areas Pakistan. In the summer (april to june) and the post-monsoon season (sept – oct), the atmospheric pressure falls and convectional currents cause sporadic and localized rainfall in the extreme north and the safed koh mountains. This is accompanied by strong winds from 60 -80 km per hour. Stormy rainfall and hail also occurs as a result of these winds, which cause the destruction of apples, pears and other crops grown there. In the summer season, in southern plains and north-western parts of Baluchistan, due to low pressure, dust storms and strong winds are also experienced. Sometimes, such dust storms also hit the upper indus plain and like floods, damage crops and orchards.
TROPICAL CYCLONES from the...