PESHAWAR: Four people were killed and six suffered injuries in roof collapses caused by strong winds and hailstorm in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining Federally Administered Tribal Areas on Wednesday.

Strong winds coupled with hailstorm played havoc in parts of Bannu district damaging crops and electricity lines.

Roof of a house collapsed in Domail area of the district killing two women.

Local volunteers recovered bodies from under the debris.

The deceased were daughter and daughter-in-law of Hawaldar Khan.

Local residents said strong windstorm followed by rains and hailstorm lashed parts of Bannu causing severe damages to standing crops.

The inclement weather also damaged power transmission lines and uprooted trees.

Domail was the worst-affected area, where people said hailstones piled up on roofs and streets as high as three feet.

The hailstorm plunged the area into darkness due to electricity suspension. Also, it caused the mercury to drop considerably.

The bad weather also caused deaths in tribal areas.

Two deaths were reported from Orakzai Agency.

A local official said a house collapsed in Samm village in the wee hours of the day killing Qamar Zaman’s wife and one-year-old son.

He said the people retrieved bodies from under the debris.

In another incident, the lightning struck the house of Abdur Rehman in Bagun area of Kurram Agency leaving four children and two women injured.

It also caused a portion of the compound to collapse.

Heavy rain began in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata late on Monday and continued on Tuesday intermittently.

The Met Office said heavy rains had been recorded in different parts of the province and adjacent tribal areas.

It said Peshawar received 21mm rain, Timergara 52mm, Parachinar 40mm, Saidu Sharif 35mm, Balakot 33mm, Malam Jabba 37mm and Kohat 35mm.

Kalam hill station in Swat district received two inches snowfall.

The Met Office forecast more rains during the next 24 hours in the area.

Also, it rained heavily in upper parts of Hazara division for third consecutive day.

The rain began on Monday evening and continued intermittently in Mansehra, Batagram, Kohistan and Torghar districts.

In Bajaur, the heavy downpour paralysed life on the second consecutive day.

The rain began on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday evening without break disrupting power supply to parts of the tribal region.

Several houses and boundary walls collapsed due to heavy rains.

However, no damage to human life was reported.

Most commercial plazas and shops remained closed in agency headquarters, Khar, due to heavy rains.

Also, thin transport was seen on the roads.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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