PESHAWAR: The Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement (RRS) Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared ‘extreme cold weather emergency’ in the province as rain and snowfall lashed many districts on Sunday.

As cold wave persists in Hazara and several other parts of the province, Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad artery and several link roads have been blocked by snowfall and landslides trigged by rains.

“Since an extraordinary cold wave has hit whole of the province and is likely to continue; therefore, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 16(A) (1) of National Disaster Management (KP) Act 2010, the RRS department hereby declare ‘extreme cold weather emergency’ in whole of KP w.e.f. December 27, 2020, till further orders,” said the RRS department its notification.

It said that during emergency the deputy commissioners across the province were authorised to establish/reactivate temporary shelters (panagahs) where the needy could be provided two-time cooked food (breakfast and dinner) and shelter for the night.

DCs asked to set up temporary shelters, arrange food for needy

The notification said that the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) should provide from its central storage (HRF Jalozai) tents, beddings, and/or any other required article available for the purposes of temporary shelters to the districts in reasonable quantity.

It said in case the DCs had such articles in their storage they were authorised to utilise the same for temporary shelters in reasonable quantity.

It said the people whose houses had been damaged due to extreme weather would also be provided cooked food for three times a day.

The weather emergency declaration coincided with the ongoing spell of rain which hit parts of province on Sunday.

A met department advisory said a westerly wave was present over upper parts of the country and it might persist in upper parts till Monday. It forecasted cold and dry weather for most parts of the country on Monday and rain/snowfall for upper parts of KP.

It said that on Sunday Peshawar airport received 7mm of rain, Parachinar 6mm, Cherat 5mm, Dir Lower 2mm and Dir Upper, Takht Bhai, Mirkhani and Drosh received 1mm rain each.

In Swat, tourists from Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and other parts of the country visited Malam Jabba, Kalam, Bahrain, Mankiyal, Gabin Jabba and other tourist spots where they enjoyed fresh snowfall and snow-related activities.

According to the met department fresh rainfall in the plains and snowfall on the mountainous region of Swat was expected from Sunday evening till Tuesday.

Meanwhile, upper parts of Hazara also received heavy rain and snowfall on Sunday. As rain continued for entire day in Mansehra, Torghar and Kohistan districts, second spell of snowfall in Kaghan, Siren, Konsh and other valleys of Mansehra and Upper Kohistan caused severe cold and blocking of several roads to traffic in the region.

Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road and many link roads remain blocked because of snowfall and landslides trigged by rains.

In Bajaur, the first snowfall of winter season was reported on Sunday, plunging the temperatures. The snowfall started on Saturday night and continued till Sunday evening.

In Mohmand, snowfall was recorded in the mountains and plains of different areas after 18 years on Sunday. About two hours of snowfall was witnessed in the plains apart from mountain ranges of Khwezai tehsil, Baizai and Atokhel area. As a result, cold wave has gripped the area.

In Khyber, mercury dropped below zero in Tirah valley on Sunday when it received second snowfall of winter while residents in Landi Kotal enjoyed rare snowfall which started early in the morning.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2020