Pakistan
Hunza River inflow has increased to 5400 Cusecs
PT Report
Islamabad, June 14: Increased melting of snow and glaciers in the Gojal Valley has raised volume of water in the river to around 5400 Cusecs, as reported by monitoring sources.
Discharge through the spillway has reportedly also increased to around 4900 Cusecs, while an additional 200 Cusecs of water is seeping through barrier of the lake. The cumulative outflow of water from the landslide lake is, thus, around 5100 Cusecs
During the past 48 hours water level in upstream valleys has increased by 7 inches.
Two more houses have been dismantled in Goze locality of Gulmit.
Common readers may not be called as the geological experts but knowing the historically back ground of these young mountain range and their nature that they are prone to land sliding which keep on filling the river bed restring the water flow. This may be the common phenomenaof this area but it does demand that to keep the river flowing; the river bed ought to be kept clear. Nature has so far been very kind to keep up the auto clearing of the river bed by natural erosion.
But this time Atabad land slide happens to be massive which has totally blocked the river flow. The long lake barrier is gutted with mega boulders and fixed by small boulder having packed by the debris. This is very much required that Mechanical means be utilized to breach the spillway so that this lake be drained. A control explosions to clear the boulders and encourage the the flow may be the only answer.
This is also a requirement that public opinion be build up that any untoward scenario of rapid breach may create a downstream damages; which even otherwise may be eminent for which clock is ticking.