04 March 2005	Friday	22 Muharram 1426

PESHAWAR, March 3: Torrential rain in the NWFP killed at least 439 peopleand injured 474, besides causing huge financial losses as 9,988 houses collapsed and 1,664 animals perished.

This was stated by Dr. Quaid Saeed, head of UN operations for the NWFP, while briefing journalists about the latest reports collected from different parts of the province on Thursday.

The harsh weather also disrupted the communication network in most parts of the province as roads leading to remote areas had either been blocked or damaged, resulting in relief operations coming to a standstill.

He said that though the personnel of UN agencies, including the WHO, UNFPA, Unicef and IRC, have been engaged in relief operations in most parts of the province, yet they were finding it hard to have access to the majority of the population in the most affected areas, particularly interior Kohistan and Mansehra district.

Dr Quaid also confirmed that 67 people had been killed in Swat as well as Kohistan districts due to collapsing of ceilings or landslides. He said that so far 42 people, including children, had been killed in Mansehra due to the same reasons.

He said that where injuries were concerned Mardan was on top of the list as 57 people had been injured, while Mansehra was second with 49 injured and Swat third with 48 injured.

Informing about the losses regarding cattle, the doctor said that out of 1,664 cows 313 had perished in Kohistan, 288 in Mansehra and 235 in Karak. Besides, 443 goats had perished in Kohistan, 235 in Karak and 150 in Dera Ismail Khan during the long spell of winter rains.

Replying to a question, Dr Quaid said that due to roads remaining blockaded in the hilly parts of the NWFP, including Shangla, Abbottabad, Dir and some Federally Administered Tribal Areas, particularly Khyber, Mohmand, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan agencies, the relief agencies were finding it difficult to access the affected areas.

He further said that in a crisis like this some relief goods, including tea bags, milk powder, tents and sweaters, were being air dropped in the area through helicopters.