LAKKI MARWAT / D.I. KHAN: At least 25 people were killed and over 140 injured as a heavy downpour, strong winds and thunderstorms lashed the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday, toppling walls, uprooting trees and pylons, leaving many areas without power.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, at least 69 homes were damaged in Lakki, Karak and Bannu, and there were fears that the toll could rise further.

Bannu Division Commissioner Perwaiz Sabatkhel confirmed 17 deaths and 102 injuries, including 15 critical injuries, in Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts. Mr Sabatkhel said that 12 people were killed and 65 were injured in Bannu, whereas four people were killed and 73 were injured in Lakki Marwat.

In Bannu, at least twelve people were buried alive as roofs and walls collapsed due to the powerful windstorm coupled with a deluge. The bodies were taken to the district headquarters hospital and Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital. A rescue official, however, put the death toll at 13.

Over 140 injured; officials fear death toll may rise

In Lakki, the roofs and boundary walls of several houses collapsed. An official said that rescuers retrieved the bodies of a woman and three children from the rubble of a house and shifted them to a hospital for medico-legal formalities. He said that the injured were also taken to different state hospitals in Lakki Marwat and Naurang towns. According to reports, the rainstorm also killed dozens of cattle and damaged public and private properties.

Commissioner Sabatkhel feared the number of deceased would probably go up as field staff were still reaching out to people in the affected areas to ascertain the magnitude of damage. “The current figures are compiled from hospitals; the [death] toll may go up,” he said.

In Karak, four people were killed, according to the deputy commissioner’s office.

According to locals, the powerful rainstorm played havoc in southern districts and uprooted trees in urban and rural areas of the rain-hit districts. Solar panels — an alternative power source in the region which suffers from extensive power outages — were blown away from the roof of the houses and government offices by strong winds. In some parts of the province, trees fell over transmission lines, suspending the power supply to Lakki city; damage to transmission lines in some areas due to strong winds was also reported. Following the rainstorm, locals were seen collecting wood from fallen trees along the Tajazai-Darra Tang section of the Bannu-Mianwali road for fuel.

The administration in affected districts activated their machinery and line agencies after the calamity, and rescue and civil defence teams were dispatched to the affected areas to carry out relief efforts. Emergency was declared in hospitals and doctors and paramedics were called back to duty.

One dead in D.I. Khan

In Dera Ismail Khan and its outskirts, strong winds and torrential rainfall battered the district, killing a six-year-old kid in Kirri Khaisore. The child died after a palm tree fell on him in the locality on the border of Dera Ismail Khan and Mianwali.

Likewise, many trees and pylons came crashing down due to the storm and rainfall, causing damage to infrastructure in the Shanki area and power outages. Roofs of several houses and shops also caved in. Paharpur, Paniyal and Prova tehsils of DI Khan and Tank districts were also affected by the storm.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2023