PESHAWAR: Unidentified men have damaged and stolen the early warning system components in the glaciated areas of the Kumrat and Mankial valleys in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, disrupting communication related to floods, including glacial lake outburst flooding, sources reveal.

They told Dawn that around 14 early warning systems had stopped transmitting signals to the Pakistan Metrological Department from different spots of the Kumrat valley in Upper Dir and Mankial Valley in Upper Swat.

The sources said the stolen and damaged equipment included solar panels, batteries, snow sensors, solar wire, and wind and water sensors.

An official of the PMD told Dawn that most of the damage was caused to the early warning systems in Kumrat Valley, while a few in the Mankial valley.

Officials call for better community awareness, participation to protect equipment

“We recently repaired and replaced these devices but now, such incidents have become frequent,” he said. He said that the locals blamed each other for the damage.

The official said that 85 early warning systems were installed in the glaciated areas of the province, including Chitral, Upper Dir, Swat and Kohistan, which were prone to Glofs.

He said that the installation occurred last year under the UNDP’s Glof-II project in close collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and PMD.

In a recent correspondence on this issue, the defence ministry expressed concerns over the repeated damage to the early warning system and asked chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah to crack down on vandalism.

“I want to draw your kind attention towards this ministry’s letter regarding request for logistical support from KP for restoration of Glof-II Early Warning Systems and letter dated 16.01.2026 about Safety and Sustainability of Early Warning Systems Equipment installed under Glof-II Project,” reads the letter, whose copy is available with Dawn.

It noted that in pursuance of special directives of the prime minister, PMD and Ministry of Defence had initiated emergent operation for the restoration of vandalised and damaged hydro-meteorological Glof early warning systems.

“During the visits and inspection, multiple Early Warning System (EWS) installations were found severely vandalized and damaged. The incidents include theft of batteries, solar panels, logger boxes, satellite communication components, support structures, and deliberate destruction of installed equipment,” it said.

The letter said that although majority of those stations had been rehabilitated by PMD, the damage and theft were reported to the local police.

Recently, authorities found the Water Level Gauge Station to be destroyed and they declared it irreparable.

Officials said similar incidents were observed by officials during field activities, which were conducted with the support of the district administration in Kumrat-Swat, Matiltan-Swat, Rehsan-Booni, Chitral and adjoining areas on May 6.

They said the recurring vandalism highlighted a critical concern that without effective and adequate community ownership, involvement and participation, the restoration and sustainability of EWS might not thrive.

The officials said the early warning system infrastructure would remain vulnerable to repeated sabotage and theft, ultimately compromising the intended objectives of timely flood and disaster warnings for local populations.

They said that necessary directions should be issued to the district administrations, departments concerned and other local authorities to ensure enhanced community awareness and ownership of the system infrastructure and active local participation in safeguarding the installed systems.

Also, the PMD formally requested the KP government to improve coordination among district administration, local law enforcement agencies and PMD, for security measures to protect critical installations.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2026