Glacial lake outburst floods devastate Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan, severing roads and threatening homes

PoGB [Pakistan], August 11 (ANI): Climate change-driven disasters continue to batter Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) as a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) from the Shishper Glacier tore through Hassanabad Nullah, swept away part of the Karakoram Highway, and destroyed public and private properties, Dawn reported.
Officials described the event as the most severe in the area since 2018. "The volume of today's flood was the highest in the Nullah since 2018," said Zubair Ahmed Khan, assistant director of the Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority (GBDMA) for Hunza and Nagar, according to Dawn.
The flood severed the main road link for much of Hunza's population, with traffic diverted via the Sas Valley Road from Murtazabad, he added.
The torrent, fuelled by accelerated glacier melt, ripped through agricultural land, uprooted trees, and damaged public and private property. In Hassanabad, residents were left counting the cost.
"The flood eroded land near multiple homes and put more than 50 houses near Hassanabad Nullah at risk," Saleem Bercha, a local resident, told Dawn. "Several homes have developed cracks. Ten houses were dismantled recently to try to save them from the water," he added.
This latest destruction follows a similar GLOF last month that damaged four homes and swathes of farmland.
Authorities said Sunday's disaster struck after the Shishper Glacier's water discharge was blocked for around an hour before bursting through, obliterating protective walls and damaging irrigation and drinking-water channels to Aliabad and nearby villages.
Elsewhere in PoGB, flash floods triggered by heavy glacier melt surged through Supultar Nullah in Nagar Khas, blocking the Hoper Valley road and cutting off a popular tourist destination. The flood damaged irrigation systems, destroyed a bridge, and severed the Hisper Valley road in Tokorkot village, where several homes are now under threat.
In Hunza's Shimshal Valley, rising river levels damaged the only access road and the protective walls safeguarding it.
Across the region, restoration work on irrigation and water supply systems wrecked by recent cloudbursts, flash floods, and GLOFs remains stalled. Communities are facing acute shortages of drinking and irrigation water. In Danyor, residents said the destruction of the main water channels had left thousands without water.
"Crops and trees have dried up," a resident said, according to Dawn.
Volunteers are now working to repair the damage, as communities here depend almost entirely on glacier-fed water for survival.
Experts warn that unprecedented high temperatures and repeated heatwaves this year have accelerated glacier melt, making GLOFs and extreme flooding more frequent. (ANI)