KHAR / LANDI KOTAL /PESHAWAR: At least 14 people were killed and 22 others injured as heavy downpour and windstorm lashed parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Saturday.

Officials of the Bajaur Agency administration said that nine people were killed and 13 others suffered injuries in incidents of wall and roof collapse after a windstorm hit the area in the evening.

According to the officials, most of the dead and wounded belonged to Mamond and Khar tehsil. Heavy rain, accompanied by strong windstorm, started at about 5pm and continued for at least two hours in Bajaur.

Heavy rains also triggered flash floods in different areas. Strong winds uprooted trees and signboards. A dust storm struck Peshawar and adjacent areas, reducing visibility, which was followed by heavy rain.

Reports suggested that three people were killed and nine others injured in the rain-related incidents in Khyber Agency. Khasadar officials said that the accidents occurred due to poor visibility on road near Sadukhel as the area was hit hard by strong winds and torrential rain.

Hospital sources said that a car driver Mohammad Wakil died on the spot while a medical representative Riaz Khan died at the hospital. The injured also included two soldiers of Frontier Corps.

Medical staff at the Agency Headquarters Hospital faced difficulties in providing emergency treatment to the injured due to suspension of power supply at its OPD.

Relatives of the injured had to arrange for mobile phone lights to enable the medical staff to stitch their injuries.

Assistant medical superintendent of the Agency Headquarters Hospital Dr Naseeb Gul told Dawn that five bodies and 13 wounded were brought to the hospital.

However, he said that two wounded persons were later referred to a hospital in Peshawar due to their precious condition.

In reply to a question, he said that the condition of almost all the wounded persons was stated to be stable after they received first aid.

In another incident, a 10-year-old boy identified as Ibrahim drowned in a strom-water drain in Landi Kotal. Two more children were rescued.

In Nowshera, lightning killed one person in the Pir Sabaq area, according to Rescue 1122. An official said that a signboard along the road collapsed due to windstorm in Nowshera that caused injuries to a pedestrian. He was taken to a local hospital.

The rooftop of a warehouse also collapsed on the Ring Road, Peshawar, injuring a person. Bad weather also disrupted power supply to many areas of the city.

Earlier in the morning, heavy rain and hailstorm started across the Swat valley, causing flashfloods in Mingora and Saidu Sharif.

The main GT Road connecting district Swat with the rest of the country remained blocked for hours due to flashfloods and ponds on the road.

According to residents, the main reason of the flashfloods was the blockage of the drainage system for which they blamed the newly established Water and Sanitation Services Company.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2018