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Pakistani residents stand by flood water that entered a residential area of Muzaffarabad (Image from BangkokPost.com)
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Monsoon rain in Gilgit Baltistan causes landslides, KKH closure and casualies
Posted: Jul 30, 2010 02:08 pm EST
Heavy rain caused hundreds of foreigners in Gilgit Baltistan KKH to be stranded. ExWeb correspondent in Islambad Karrar Haidri said: “Foreigners are stuck at various places.”
“This is the worst ever flood in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the country's history,” provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said at a news conference. He continued: “At least 408 deaths have been confirmed in floods and rain related incidents across the province.”
Dawn.com says: “Landslides in Ghizer, Hunza-Nagar, Astore and Baltistan blocked roads linking the districts with the rest of the country.”
Haidri also said: “there are no flights going out of Gilgit Balistan for more than seven days.” The local administration and Ministry of Tourism are helping out with the assistance of helicopters to lift people from the KKH. The KKH is the highest paved international road in the world which services China and Pakistan.
This monsoon streak is causing problems at the Peaks too. It is causing massive snowfall and the remaining climbers at K2 BC are waiting out the weather hoping for a new summit push next week.
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