Pakistan is diverting water from its biggest lake to prevent a retainer wall from bursting, which would worsen deadly floods in the southern Sindh province.
(Bloomberg) — Pakistan is diverting water from its biggest lake to prevent a retainer wall from bursting, which would worsen deadly floods in the southern Sindh province.
About 30,000 cusecs of water — some 850,000 liters per second or enough to fill an Olympic-size pool in about three seconds — is being diverted to the outskirts of Sehwan. Even so the city, along with Dadu and Mirpurkhas, is in danger of flooding, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said in a briefing Tuesday.
Manchar lake rose to a dangerously high level and a second breach was made Sept. 5 to lower the water level, which will take a week, Shah said. The government didn’t immediately respond to a request Wednesday seeking comment on a Washington Post report that said the lake had burst its banks.
Torrential rains have flooded about a third of the South Asian nation, killing more than a thousand and forcing half a million people into relief camps. Damage from the floods will be far greater than $10 billion, according to Pakistan’s planning minister.
Pakistan has also warned about another rain spell in mid-September that can worsen the current situation.
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