The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has announced launching a travel advisory SMS service in collaboration with National Highways & Motorway Police (NHMP). This service will enable people to exercise caution while traveling. PTA said; “PTA in collaboration with @NHMPofficialhas started travel advisory #SMS service for mobile subscribers to exercise caution while travelling on highways and motorways to #flood affected areas.”
Press Release: PTA in collaboration with @NHMPofficial has started travel advisory #SMS service for mobile subscribers to exercise caution while travelling on highways and motorways to #flood affected areas.
— PTA (@PTAofficialpk) August 28, 2022
Travel Advisory SMS Service to Help People Plan Their Trip
PTA has said that the travel advisory SMS service will spread awareness among people planning to visit an area on high alert due to the flood warnings. As stated in a tweet; “The objective is to give awareness to the public to avoid unnecessary travel in such areas where #flood warnings have been issued.” The development came as multiple tourists were stranded during the recent flood in KPK.
PTA also said that users don’t need to subscribe to this service it will automatically send alerts to people’s smartphones so they can plan their trip accordingly and take all the necessary precautions before any calamity hits the area. Meanwhile, PTA also informed the users that internet services in flood-hit regions of KPK are badly affected due to the damages caused to the optical fiber cable.
Worst Flooding in Pakistan
The death toll caused by flooding due to the monsoon rains had reached 1,033, with 119 deaths recorded in the previous 24 hours. The monsoon rain has affected more than 33 million people while around 300,000 homes have been destroyed. Pakistan’s climate change minister, Sherry Rahman, said in a video message; “We are at the moment at the ground zero of the frontline of extreme weather events, in an unrelenting cascade of heatwaves, forest fires, flash floods, multiple glacial lake outbursts, flood events, and now the monster monsoon of the decade is wreaking nonstop havoc throughout the country.”
Also read: KPK: Hotels, Houses and Bridges Swept Away by the Raging Flood
