Comment SHEHWAN, Pakistan — The retaining wall of Pakistan’s largest lake burst Tuesday after months of heavy rains, threatening hundreds of other villages downstream and forcing thousands more to flee their homes. The Pakistani government constructed two deliberate breaches in Lake Manchar’s retaining wall over the weekend in an effort to ease pressure on the structure, but an irrigation official told The Washington Post that the wall began to crack on Tuesday as water levels continued to rise. A local agriculture department official confirmed the breach, but said it was unclear whether it was due to water pressure or whether residents of a nearby town had damaged the wall to divert floodwaters away from their area. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. “It is not possible to repair the wall now,” said the irrigator. He said the government was unable to protect villages in the flood’s path and estimated families would have four to five hours to evacuate. ‘No one cares about us’: Pakistanis struggle for survival after floods Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro confirmed to The Post the appearance of the new breach in the flood wall, but maintained that no further evacuations would be needed because all downstream settlements had already been evacuated. The Pakistani government is already struggling to respond to what has been described as a “catastrophic” crisis, and the Manchar Lake breach is likely to further impede access to those in need. Anger is growing among displaced Pakistanis, hundreds of villages remain under water, and people who have reached land are desperately seeking shelter and relief. Water from the lake may seep over highways and overflowing drainage canals just north of Shehwan, threatening to cut off a key supply route to some of the country’s worst-hit villages in Dadu and beyond. The roads leading south were lined with farmers moving their animals to safety. The agriculture official said the government should act quickly to divert the water escaping from Lake Manchar by creating additional rifts along the lake or digging more canals. If the water is not diverted, the official warned, more than 100,000 people could be displaced. The unprecedented floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,300 people and affected an estimated 33 million since they began in June. Government relief efforts have been overwhelmed, although international supplies have begun to enter the country. Two months of flooding in Sindh province far exceeded the devastating rainfall of 2010 – affecting twice the area – and has been described as the worst in the country’s history. Officials attribute the unusually heavy rainfall to climate change. The floods also came as vast rural areas of the country were preparing for the harvest season. Cash crops of rice, cotton and vegetables have been swept away and the losses will cause untold hardship to farmers who rely on these crops for income.
