As Pakistan reels from one more monsoon tragedy, celebrities have raised their voices over the flash floods in Swat that claimed the lives of no less than 17 folks on Friday.
The victims, lots of whom had been youngsters and younger adults, had been swept away by a sudden surge within the river’s circulation whereas having breakfast on the riverbank close to Mingora.
What was meant to be a peaceable morning turned catastrophic in a matter of minutes, and disturbing movies of vacationers stranded within the gushing Swat River have since gone viral on social media, additional fuelling public outrage at what many are calling a preventable tragedy.
“Shocked and extremely saddened by this tragedy. Praying for everybody impacted… We’d like methods that management the influence of rain. We’d like management,” singer and actor Hadiqa Kiani wrote in an Instagram story.
In a extra scathing follow-up, Kiani questioned the utter lack of preparedness. “At times we face these life-taking floods, and but we take no strong measures. Why? These harmless lives paid the worth of negligence. No climate forecast? No warnings? Do we now have any system? This so-called system failed you.”
“A river that after sang songs of peace now roars with sorrow… Total villages had been swept away whereas the world remained unaware. This isn’t only a pure catastrophe. This can be a human tragedy ignored,” Hira Mani shared in an emotional notice on Instagram. Whereas there have been deaths, no experiences have emerged of villages or properties being swept away.
The actor mourned not simply the loss however the silence surrounding it. “There is no such thing as a assist. No rescue. This isn’t only a pure catastrophe. This can be a human tragedy ignored.”
She additionally urged her followers to behave, “Swat wants us. Not tomorrow. Not later. Now. Please, share, communicate, donate, assist. Even a voice raised generally is a lifeline.”
Cricketer Naseem Shah additionally posted a heartfelt message, “Completely devastated by the tragic information from our lovely Swat… Could Allah grant them energy, persistence, and mercy on this insufferable time.”
Some stored it quick, however their sorrow resonated simply as loudly. Actor Yasir Hussain merely shared, “Unhappy, unhappy, unhappy.” Actor Zara Noor Abbas wrote, “Deeply saddened by this, might Allah bless their souls. Ameen.”
Host Dr Shaista Lodhi posted, “Could Allah have mercy.” Whereas Aiman Khan shared a sobering reminder, “Please keep away from going to rivers in monsoon.”
Actor Yashma Gill additionally took to Instagram to precise her sorrow and share a heartfelt plea for warning. “A heartbreaking tragedy has struck in Swat,” she wrote, “the place over 16 members of the identical household had been swept away by flash floods throughout a picnic by the river… Solely 3 have survived.”
Shaken by the extensively circulated footage of the incident, Gill added, “I can’t think about the ache they’re going via… Watching the video and witnessing their helplessness has actually torn my coronary heart.”
She provided prayers for the departed and urged the general public to be extra vigilant throughout monsoon travels. “Please, as a precaution, preserve checking climate and flood forecasts. Nature could be unpredictable and your security ought to all the time be an important factor.”
A preventable catastrophe?
The flood occurred after two days of rainfall pushed the Swat River right into a “very excessive flood state,” with a discharge price of over 77,000 cubic toes per second. A household of vacationers from Sialkot and Mardan had been seated alongside the river close to the bypass in Shangla when the water degree instantly surged.
At the least 13 folks, together with youngsters aged seven to twenty, drowned. Whereas heroic locals saved some, others had been tragically swept away. In accordance with an official report, 10 persons are nonetheless lacking.
Eyewitnesses stated the vacationers remained stranded for over an hour earlier than assist arrived. Muhammad Hilal, a neighborhood, was capable of pull three folks from the waters himself. Many at the moment are questioning why, regardless of a flood alert issued by the PDMA earlier, authorities didn’t take preemptive steps, reminiscent of implementing Part 144 to limit entry to the riverbank.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur directed the CM Inspection Workforce to research deaths on Friday. He additionally expressed sorrow over the tragedy and introduced compensation for the deceased. The federal government suspended three officers from Swat’s district administration and one from the aid, rehabilitation and settlement division
The collective outcry displays a rising frustration with a system that many say continues to fail its folks, 12 months after 12 months.
Because the demise toll rises and search efforts proceed, many at the moment are demanding greater than condolences — they need accountability, early warning methods, and a mannequin that doesn’t deal with such tragedies as inevitable.
