PESHAWAR: Heavy rains and flash floods killed four people and wounded 14 others in Bannu, Charsadda, Peshawar and Shangla districts on Wednesday while 500 stranded people were evacuated to safer places.

Torrential rains triggered flash floods that wreaked havoc in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) confirmed two deaths in rain-related incidents that occurred in Bannu and Charsadda. The authority did not report injuries from calamity-hit areas of the province.

Officials said that one person was killed when a house collapsed in Bakakhel area of Bannu. Seven people were brought to the local hospital for treatment, said a report. Rain started late Tuesday night caused damage to houses and destroyed standing crops on vast swathe of land.

Six houses and a school building collapsed due to rain and flood. Met office in Peshawar said that 82 millimetre rain was recorded in Bannu and 81millimetre in Kohat.

500 stranded people evacuated from Shabqadar

The adjacent areas also received rain.

Shabqadar in Charsadda was the worst affected area where two people lost their lives while three others including a woman received injuries. The deceased were identified as Ihsanullah and Mohammad Sodais.

Emergency was declared in the area and staff of Rescue 1122 was called to start rescue and relief activities. Volunteers of Edhi Foundation and Al-Khaidmat Foundation also reached the affected area to assist people.

Flash flood inundated commercial properties, residential quarters and infrastructure of Frontier Constabulary. Officials said that floodwater entered training school of FC, offices and residential quarters. The flood also submerged local grid station and caused suspension of power supply to the area.

Local residents said that rain and flood caused damage to houses in Shabqadar Bazaar and its surrounding localities. In addition, hundreds of bags of sugar, cement and wheat flour were also destroyed in Shabqadar Bazaar, second major commercial centre after Charsadda Town in the district.

The Rescue 1122 dispatched teams and boats to Shabqadar and evacuated 500 stranded people including women and children.

A statement issued in Peshawar said that rescue teams were dispatched from Peshawar and Mardan to Shabqadar to help the affected people.

Six boats, four dewatering pumps and two water rescue vans took part in the rescue operation. Water submerged residential quarters and vast stretch of farm lands in the area. Relief activities in flood-hit areas of Charsadda was in progress, said a statement.

Heavy rain was also reported from Chitral district. According to PDMA, Shandur Road was blocked at Shahidas Nulla and Yarkhoon Mahthing Road due to flood.

Peshawar also received heavy rain that started in the small hours of Wednesday. Roof of a small fish hut collapsed that caused injuries to three persons. Met office said that 43 millimetre rain was recorded in Peshawar. Rainwater entered houses in Gulbahar area of the city.

Torrential rain pounded parts of Battagram district that caused hardship to the shopkeepers and pedestrians in the main bazaar along Karakoram Highway.

The rain, which started late night, continued with intervals on Wednesday. Malamjaba in Swat also received heavy rains.

According to PDMA, a child identified as Inayatullah was killed and another was injured when a boulder hit the house of Fateeh Mulk in Dherai village of tehsil Alpuri in Shangla district. The inmates were asleep when the boulder hit their house.

Local residents said that heavy rain paralysed life in Damori and Amjeer areas in Alpuri and Dheri and Lilownai areas in tehsil Khana. There were also reports of closer of link roads due to landslide.

Meanwhile, according to nazim of Safaid Arkari union council, flash flood washed away a large tract of forest and agricultural land, at a distance of some five hours drive from Chitral city.

According to PDMA it is a developing situation. The population is vulnerable and villagers have been warned to vacate their houses and move to safer places.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2017