Zürcher Nachrichten - 'Heavenly' Pakistan mountain town becomes site of ruin

EUR -
AED 3.833929
AFN 72.964627
ALL 98.46974
AMD 410.482288
ANG 1.873176
AOA 958.225718
ARS 1067.049356
AUD 1.666857
AWG 1.878875
AZN 1.774753
BAM 1.956192
BBD 2.098621
BDT 124.204899
BGN 1.955601
BHD 0.393707
BIF 3072.916014
BMD 1.043819
BND 1.411583
BOB 7.18244
BRL 6.345171
BSD 1.039408
BTN 88.363714
BWP 14.36588
BYN 3.401482
BYR 20458.857295
BZD 2.089319
CAD 1.499044
CDF 2995.761523
CHF 0.932872
CLF 0.037419
CLP 1032.493641
CNY 7.618524
CNH 7.626712
COP 4582.366506
CRC 524.405125
CUC 1.043819
CUP 27.66121
CVE 110.288166
CZK 25.107024
DJF 185.087104
DKK 7.457963
DOP 63.292688
DZD 140.787225
EGP 53.141149
ERN 15.657289
ETB 129.565873
FJD 2.416861
FKP 0.826686
GBP 0.830192
GEL 2.932544
GGP 0.826686
GHS 15.279063
GIP 0.826686
GMD 75.155158
GNF 8979.80014
GTQ 8.008605
GYD 217.453592
HKD 8.110632
HNL 26.384289
HRK 7.487217
HTG 135.977259
HUF 413.947568
IDR 16892.022536
ILS 3.800124
IMP 0.826686
INR 88.789872
IQD 1361.572948
IRR 43931.739655
ISK 145.100882
JEP 0.826686
JMD 162.6226
JOD 0.740171
JPY 163.472813
KES 134.652506
KGS 90.812117
KHR 4176.837312
KMF 486.550268
KPW 939.436741
KRW 1514.367737
KWD 0.321486
KYD 0.866174
KZT 545.859426
LAK 22749.560501
LBP 93075.658456
LKR 305.161174
LRD 188.647817
LSL 19.135536
LTL 3.082127
LVL 0.631396
LYD 5.107024
MAD 10.460797
MDL 19.144838
MGA 4903.983079
MKD 61.525545
MMK 3390.284206
MNT 3546.897675
MOP 8.320868
MRU 41.336286
MUR 48.913424
MVR 16.053629
MWK 1801.846919
MXN 20.952657
MYR 4.68883
MZN 66.703943
NAD 19.135536
NGN 1614.214134
NIO 38.247667
NOK 11.807501
NPR 141.382342
NZD 1.845201
OMR 0.401881
PAB 1.039408
PEN 3.870376
PGK 4.214845
PHP 61.194942
PKR 289.308896
PLN 4.260197
PYG 8104.624697
QAR 3.78906
RON 4.974944
RSD 116.979037
RUB 107.409252
RWF 1448.890453
SAR 3.92095
SBD 8.750916
SCR 14.556008
SDG 627.860716
SEK 11.499026
SGD 1.414476
SHP 0.826686
SLE 23.801056
SLL 21888.370918
SOS 594.01908
SRD 36.670438
STD 21604.951007
SVC 9.094823
SYP 2622.627433
SZL 19.130835
THB 35.739849
TJS 11.370679
TMT 3.663806
TND 3.311964
TOP 2.444727
TRY 36.745676
TTD 7.054414
TWD 34.11671
TZS 2520.823735
UAH 43.591038
UGX 3812.764328
USD 1.043819
UYU 46.359293
UZS 13400.686375
VES 53.730883
VND 26550.586436
VUV 123.924312
WST 2.883851
XAF 656.088523
XAG 0.035222
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.820974
XDR 0.792859
XOF 656.088523
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.346218
ZAR 19.100702
ZMK 9395.631657
ZMW 28.764766
ZWL 336.109373
  • RBGPF

    59.9600

    59.96

    +100%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.27

    -0.14%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.86

    +0.08%

  • CMSD

    0.0000

    23.56

    0%

  • SCS

    -0.5800

    11.74

    -4.94%

  • GSK

    0.1700

    33.6

    +0.51%

  • RIO

    -0.0900

    58.64

    -0.15%

  • NGG

    0.8200

    58.5

    +1.4%

  • BP

    0.1900

    28.6

    +0.66%

  • BTI

    0.1131

    36.24

    +0.31%

  • RELX

    -0.3100

    45.47

    -0.68%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    8.39

    +0.12%

  • AZN

    0.9100

    65.35

    +1.39%

  • BCC

    -0.2600

    122.75

    -0.21%

  • JRI

    0.1100

    12.06

    +0.91%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    23.16

    +0.22%

'Heavenly' Pakistan mountain town becomes site of ruin
'Heavenly' Pakistan mountain town becomes site of ruin / Photo: Abdul MAJEED - AFP

'Heavenly' Pakistan mountain town becomes site of ruin

Bahrain is a town in ruins –- reduced to rubble by the incredible force of flash floods that swelled the river running through it, severing a lifeline bridge.

Text size:

Hundreds of settlements in Pakistan's north have been cut off by monsoon rains that came to a head last week, causing the worst floods in the country's history.

But in the past few days, the heavily damaged road heading through the Swat Valley has slowly opened up, revealing the extent of the destruction.

In Bahrain, hotels have disappeared, the town's mosque is a bare shell, and waist-high water still gushes through the main bazaar.

"It was a heavenly place but now it is a wreckage," Muhammad Asif, a 22-year-old college student, told AFP on Wednesday.

"In the past week, everything has changed dramatically. The river added to the beauty, but now it is a threat."

The town usually bustles with more than a thousand summer tourists every day, drawn by majestic mountain views from hotels and restaurants perched on the riverbank.

It will likely take years for them to return, and with tourists gone, the fear of economic ruin is also setting in.

"My hotel is still partly under water," said Muhammad Nawaz, whose 40 employees at his various establishments are now jobless.

"I am pulling sand out of my restaurant and searching for furniture in the ruins."

The road north ends at the edge of the Swat River, where the bridge that once connected the two halves of the town is now a mass of debris.

Rickety wooden planks stand in its place, crossed by men carrying sacks of rice, flour and sugar to their villages -- hours away by foot.

Further north, their valleys remain cut off.

- Desperate for help -

What was once a 20-minute journey by motorbike for Karim Farman is now close to a four-hour walk over crumbling roads.

No help has reached his flooded village of Balakot yet.

"We are desperate for any sort of assistance. We are in dire need of medicine, it is very tough to bring patients here," said Muhammad Amir, who is from the same village.

"There has been no electricity in our village for nearly a week, people don't even have a candle for light. Several people are sick with diarrhoea."

Bahrain's destruction unfolded late last Thursday night.

Many locals reported not receiving any warnings, but as the river rapidly rose tourists began to evacuate from hotels.

Like in many riverside villages and towns, locals believed only the homes on the banks were vulnerable.

But just hours later the full scale of the water's rage became clear.

"In a few minutes the water suddenly encircled my shop from every side," said Aftab Khan.

"I couldn't take anything with me because I had to save my life."

The army arrived on Wednesday, local residents said, to oversee the chaos of diggers clearing rubble and to manage the flow of foot traffic across the river.

Helicopters fly overhead, dropping food packages to the stranded valleys.

A district government official who asked not to be named told AFP it could be months before the road and bridge are repaired.

"Before, this place was like a paradise but now even locals want to escape," said restaurant owner Sheer Bahadur.

F.Carpenteri--NZN