Islamabad: The local authorities have started rehabilitation work and a temporary bridge will be installed to restore traffic disconnected after the glacial flood destroyed the Hassanabad bridge in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Hunza’s Hassanabad bridge on the Karakoram Highway (KKH) was destroyed and swept away on May 7 by a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) after the Shisper glacier started melting rapidly as a heatwave gripped Pakistan. The flooding disconnected access between central and upper Hunza, leaving thousands of people, including tourists, stranded.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) chairperson visited the site of damage and said that the temporary bridge will be completed within a week. “A compact bridge would be temporarily installed to restore traffic” while the construction of a permanent bridge would take about seven to eight months, he said.
Work on the temporary bridge has started as the traffic had been diverted to an alternate route, officials said. Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani expressed hope that the bridge would be repaired on an emergency basis. He also ordered to ensure the provision of water, electricity, Internet and phone services in the affected area.
The glacial lake outburst submerged four houses, hundreds of kanals of agricultural land, trees, water supply channels, and two hydropower projects. No loss of life was reported.
Khalid Saleem, the director-general of Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority, said an alternate route for light traffic had been opened for tourists and locals, bypassing the GLOF-hit Hassanabad area. “Rehabilitation work started at the site to restore road connectivity” and alternate arrangements for power and water supply are being made, he added. Tents, food and other basic items were also provided to affected families.
Officials have warned that heatwave conditions over glaciated regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Gilgit-Baltistan are likely to increase the melting rate of snow and ice increasing the possibility of glacial lake outburst floods in vulnerable areas.
