Satellite images from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) show the devastating overflow of the Manchhar Lake near Jamshoro and Dadu districts in Sindh.
According to the details, NASA’s Operational Land Imager tool on the Landsat 8 satellite captured the images on 25 June, 28 August, and 5 September this year. They indicate the extent to which the lake and its spillover has inundated the villages.
Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake has reportedly flooded hundreds of villages with floods and affected over 100,000 people. It expanded exponentially due to the record-breaking monsoon spells this year across the country and further overflow could result in a catastrophe, affecting innumerable numbers of people and properties.
Here are the before and after satellite images of Manchhar Lake.
Another image shows the way manmade breaches, including the one at Main Nara Valley (MNV) drain canal, spilled the raging waters in a different direction in a bid to minimize the damages Manchar Lake’s overflow could cause.
The overflow of the lake forced the authorities in making planned breaches in order to spill the water in a controlled manner so that the surrounding towns and cities could be saved. However, some villages were flooded in the process, as spilled water had to be directed to where they were located.
Earlier on 4 September, the authorities had made two breaches into the lake, which then affected approximately 400 villages and 135,000 people. However, in one instance, the water pressure created another breach itself.
The villagers living nearby were informed to evacuate their homes before the planned breaches inundated the surrounding areas but most of them were reluctant to leave their homes and livestock.
Sindh’s Minister for Irrigation, Jam Khan Shoro, assured that the water level has started to recede after the excavation of breaches, and added that several densely populated towns would have been flooded if the action was not taken.
