PESHAWAR: Monsoon rains continued to ravage Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killing five people and injuring six in separate incidents on Thursday.

The Rescue 1122 said in a report that two people were killed as a house’s roof collapsed in Jamrud area of Khyber tribal district.

It said five people were trapped under the rubble and two of them, including a woman and a child, were later found dead by the rescuers.

The Rescue 1122 said another man was killed in a roof collapse incident in Faqir Kallay area of Peshawar.

It said three people suffered injuries and one of them, a woman, died afterward.

Flash floods, landslides block roads in Hazara

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority reported two deaths in separate rain-related incidents in South Waziristan tribal district.

Residents Iqbal Wazir and Atlas Wazir were killed when the cars they travelled in were washed away by rainwater in Shakai and Wana-Shakai Road areas respectively. They were later laid to rest in their native village after funeral prayers.

The PDMA also said rains and floods caused by them damaged houses, crops and orchards in Upper and Lower Chitral, Tank and other parts of the province.

According to the Met Office, Kakul received 47mm rain, Takht Bhai 23, Peshawar 19, Malam Jabba 16, Kalam four and Bannu three during the last 24 hours.

It forecast more rains coupled with wind and thunderstorms in parts of the province for Friday.

Also in the day, torrential rains triggered flash floods and landslides in upper parts of Hazara division blocking major roads and destroying and damaging bridges.

Traffic was disrupted on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road, Karakoram Highway and other arteries in Upper Kohistan and Kaghan valley.

The people travelling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan remained stranded in the region for many hours due to the closure of KKH and MNJ Road. The administration cleared the roads afterwards.

The central bridge linking Baffa Khurd with other parts of Mansehra district was swept away by floodwaters in the Siren River.

Flash floods were also reported in the Kunhar River, Indus River and Siren River, while houses in Noguazi, Safada and other parts of the division were inundated and standing crops were destroyed after the local streams burst their banks.

Landslides in Battakundi and Jalkhad areas blocked the MNJ Road in Kaghan valley.

The chief minister’s special assistant on population, Ahmad Hussain Shah, visited the area and supervised the road clearance operation by the National Highway Authority.

The rains also caused flash floods in streams damaging slum dwellings in Joshui, Dunguin and Danash villages of the district. The administration later began rescue and relief activities.

The Mansehra police formally warned tourists against travelling beyond Naran due to the blocking of the MNJ Road by landslides.

Deputy commissioner Adnan Khan Behttani told reporters that the administration had moved machinery to Kaghan valley to clear blocked portions of the MNJ Road, while the tourists stranded there were shifted to safer places.

The residents reported prolonged power outages during and after heavy rainfall in Mansehra, Shinkiari, Balakot, Oghi and adjoining areas.

Meanwhile, the residents of flood-hit areas in South Waziristan district demanded of the provincial government, Provincial Disaster Management Authority and district Administration to compensate them for damages.

They criticised the PDMA over failure to prevent damage to public life and property during the current monsoon rains.

Meanwhile, the downpour-induced floods damaged public property in Rudikhel, Jandola, Baloch, Kot Allahdad villages of Tank district.

However, no damage to public life was reported.

A truck was swept away by floodwater in Jandola area. The Rescue 1122 workers saved the life of the people riding the truck and shifted them to a safe place.

Brigadier Tanveer Hussain of the Pakistan Army and assistant commissioner Aminullah examined rescue and relief operations.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2022