PESHAWAR: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has alerted district administrations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about the possibility of floods and landslides due to monsoon rains in the current week.

In an advisory issued to all deputy commissioners of the province, the PDMA said that the Regional Meteorological Centre, Peshawar, had informed it that monsoon currents were continuously penetrating the country from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, while a fresh westerly wave was expected to enter upper parts of the country on July 26.

It said there was a high livelihood that under that weather system, rains coupled with thunderstorms would lash Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan, Torghar, Shangla, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur, Mohmand, Mardan, Swabi, Charsadda, Nowshera, Peshawar, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, North and Waziristan, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts from July 25 to July 30 with “occasional gaps.”

The PDMA warned that heavy rains could cause urban flooding in municipal and low-lying areas of Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Charsadda and Dera Ismail Khan districts during the period.

Asks district admins to take steps to minimise damage to public life, property

It added that the downpour could trigger landslides in vulnerable areas of Swat, Chitral, Dir, Shangla, Kohistan, Battagram, Torghar, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Kurram and Khyber district.

The authority issued a warning of flash floods for Swat, Chitral, Dir, Shangla, Kohistan, Battagram, Torghar, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Kurram, Orakzai and Khyber districts.

It also said that windstorms and heavy rainfall could damage loose structures like electric poles, signboards and solar panels in those areas.

The PMDA asked district administrations to take precautionary measures to prevent and minimise human and livestock deaths and damage to infrastructure, public property and crops.

It said that the local administrations should plan deployment of additional resources, control traffic to and in the vicinity of vulnerable areas, choked points and tourist places, and keep people away from loose structures, including under-construction buildings, hoardings, electricity poles and solar panels to prevent damage to public life.

The authority also asked authorities to engage the local communities in vulnerable sites to enable round-the-clock monitoring and establish feedback mechanisms for early warning and alerts for at-risk populations.

It directed district administrations to ensure the cleaning of nullahs and storm drains to prevent any untoward incident during the monsoon season.

The PDMA also asked them to coordinate with the relevant municipal administrations to take measures against landslides, flash floods and hill torrents and to remove billboards and hoardings in view of dust, thunderstorms and heavy downpour.

It said that authorities should forewarn the people travelling the provincial and national highways in at-risk and rain-hit areas about the adverse conditions and that they should be detoured to safe waiting areas under the guidance of the respective local authorities, motorway police and other law-enforcement agencies.

Last week, the downpour-induced floods caused widespread destruction across the province, including nine deaths and damage to houses and infrastructure. Also, flash floods wreaked havoc on infrastructure in Chitral region, destroying roads, bridges, irrigation channels and orchards.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2023