PESHAWAR:With heavy rains continuing to batter parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, flash floods damaged houses and crops, blocked roads and caused power outages in Swat, Dir and Dera Ismail Khan districts on Wednesday.

The administration of Malakand division issued a high flood alert after the downpour triggered flash floods in Jambil and Marghazar streams of Swat district.

Floodwaters damaged around 100 houses, swept away more than50 animals and entered hundreds of houses in Landaykas, Makan Bagh, Mulla Baba, Amankot, Qambar, Bangladesh, Marghazar Town and other areas. Shops, schools, hotels, newly-established hockey stadium and the press club building were flooded in Mingora. The inundating of basements of several shopping plazas damaged dozens of parked cars.

The administration said strong winds, which accompanied the rain, uprooted dozens of poles suspending power supply to a large part of Mingora and its suburbs. raffic jams for hours were also reported.

The Pesco said work for the restoration of electric supply would begin only after it stopped raining.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan directed the administration of Malakand division to carry out rescue and relief activities without delay.

The administration urged the people not to go near streams and rivers amid flooding warnings.

According to the Met Office, torrential rains will continue parts of Malakand division, including Swat, Chitral, Lower and Upper Dir, Malakand and Bajaur districts, until Friday and they could trigger flash floods and landslides.

A stream inTalash area of Lower Dir district was flooded suspending traffic on the main Timergara-Peshawar Road for long hours.

The rain lashed parts of Lower and Upper Dir districts blocking several link roads to the misery of motorists and commuters.

Also, rains wreaked havoc in Dera Ismail Khan Division damaging crops in four tehsils of Dera Ismail Khan district as well as Tank district.

The residents complained about a ‘flood like situation’ in Tank city, Pir Kachh, Garah Hayat, Garah Buddha, Jannatabad and adjacent areas of Tank district.

They said torrents from the Koh-i-Sulaiman mountains flooded Darazinda, Daraban Kalan and Prova tehsils of Dera Ismail Khan district, so the water entered houses and shops.

The residents said they struggled to move out of Darazinda, Daraban Kalan and Paroa tehsils as the floodwaters had blocked roads. They also complained about food and gas shortages in several areas.

As the rain lashed Tank district, its water entered the grid station, Christian Hospital and PTCL Exchange Office. The downpour tripped many power feeders in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts causing power outages for several hours to the trouble of the residents.

The Met Office recorded 117mm rainfall in the district.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2022