PESHAWAR, Aug 14: Three people were killed and eight others injured in rain-related incidents in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday as torrential rains and flash floods caused damage to crops and hampered traffic on different roads.

A woman and her son died while three children sustained injuries when a house collapsed in Sordag area of Karak district during heavy rain. The injured were taken to district headquarters hospital, Karak.

Bannu-Kohat and Karak-Tall roads also remained blocked due to landslides and floodwater for several hours, as passengers faced severe hardships. Flash floods also damaged several link roads connecting villages with urban areas in different parts of the province.

TIMERGARA: A man and his four children were injured when a room of their house caved in due to rains in Khanpur Mena village of Adenzai on Wednesday.

People of the area said that the room collapsed due to heavy rain, leaving Bakht Zaman, his three sons and a daughter injured. The main Chakdara-Chitral Road and some links roads in mountainous areas of Lower Dir were blocked by landslides and gushing floodwater.

Drains and culverts along the roads remained choked, resulting in inundation of roads and causing inconvenience to motorists and commuters. The floodwater also washed away a hanging wooden bridge linking Badwan area of Dir with Batkhela, Malakand Agency.

Meanwhile, traffic on Chakdara-Chitral road remained blocked at Talash for over five hours on Tuesday night due to flooding. Similarly, traffic on link roads in Samar Bagh, Khall, Maidan and Adenzai was also affected.

MINGORA: Rainwater on Wednesday entered houses and shops in different parts of Mingora city, forcing the local administration to issue repeated warnings to people living near the banks of Swat River and other streams to shift to higher grounds.

Officials of Rahimabad police station said that body of one Juma Gul, resident of Bilal Colony, Mingora, was recovered near Takhtaband Bridge.

Commissioner Malakand division Mohammad Afsar Khan has called an emergency meeting of all relevant departments today (Thursday) to review flood situation and assess the damage caused by flash flood in different parts of Swat district.

Engineer Bakhtiar, an official of irrigation department, said that inflow of water in Swat River at Khwazakhela was recorded at 43,939 cusecs in the morning and 16,558 cusecs in the afternoon. All streams in the district were also flooded due to heavy rains continuing for over 10 hours.

Marghazar and Kokarai streams washed away a temporary bridge near general bus stand. Similarly, the flooded Swat River damaged a portion of Gyeman Bridge at Khwazakhela, which was later repaired by Army personnel with the support of local people. According to reports, the roof of silk mills at Rahimabad collapsed due to rain, damaging heavy machinery. Floodwater washed away house of one Fazal Akbar at Badyalai Madyan. However, no loss of life was reported. Floodwater flattened a four-room house of one Arshad Ali at Shahdarra in Mingora city.

GILGIT: Heavy rain in mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan caused severe water logging in several towns though it brought respite from sultry weather conditions. The rain affected Hato point of Skardu where a part of road linking Skardu with other part of the country was washed away, resulting in suspension of traffic.

In Hunza/Nagar and other remote areas landslides triggered by flash floods destroyed standing corps and blocked roads. However, the main road from Giglit to Hunza/Nagar was open to traffic. The local Met office predicted more rains during next 24 hours as PIA stopped its flight operation due to inclement weather in the region.

PARACHINAR: Widespread rains damaged standing crops and vegetables in several parts of Kurram Agency. Tribal elder Faqir Hussain said that torrential rains triggered flash floods which destroyed crops in Shalozan, Kirman and areas along Kurram River. He called for construction of protection walls in different areas along the river bank to protect agriculture land.

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