PESHAWAR: Heavy rain lashed a large part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, bringing respite from the stifling heat.

In the provincial capital, the rain followed heavy gusts of wind, measuring 12 to 14 knots, according to meteorological department. Rescue 1122 officials said that winds uprooted trees in several parts of the city, however, no untoward incident or casualties were reported.

The gusty winds also disrupted power supply in several areas of the provincial capital, leading to hours long power outages. Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) said that 74 power feeders tripped after developing faults due to rain.

The power utility said that a total of 54 affected feeders were in Peshawar circle while 20 others in Khyber tribal district. Besides, more than 20 feeders were restored till the filing of this report.

Power supply remains suspended in several districts

Pesco said that its teams were working for quick restoration of the remaining power feeders.

In Manshera district, tourists and passengers travelling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan remained stranded in Kaghan Valley for many hours as Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road was blocked to all sorts of traffic after landslide in Paghal area on Thursday.

The rainwater gushed out from nearby mountains in Paghal area and brought mud and boulders with it, blocking MNJ road to all sorts of traffic for many hours. The motorists and passengers, who were travelling in buses and wagons, remained stranded in long queues of vehicles on both sides of the artery connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Gigit-Baltistan.

They left for their respective destinations after the administration cleared the blocked portion of the artery.

The Manor stream, which had triggered flash floods, swept away the central bridge and blocked MNJ road to all sorts of traffic for two weeks on July 30, swelled again with the start of a fresh spell of rain in Balakot tehsil of Mansehra district.

The district administration asked tourists planning trips to Kaghan and Manor valleys in the rest of August to strictly follow travelling guidelines since a fresh spell of monsoon started in the division on August 12 could cause landslides and floods in both valleys.

Traders in Mahandri, who suffered financial losses in recent flash floods, demanded of the government to excavate boulders from an artificial lake created in the Kunhar River following the July 30 flash floods so that they could resume their business.

In Swabi, electricity supply to various regions remained suspended for several hours as torrential rain lashed the district in the afternoon.

Pesco officials told Dawn that faults developed transmission line in many areas and they were making efforts to restore power supply.

“Whenever there is a drop of rain, Pesco suspends power supply to consumers. If a fault occurs in night, then people have to wait a long time because Pesco has stopped working on fault at night time,” said Javed Khan of Maneri Bala.

Water entered houses in many low lying areas; however, the weather became pleasant due to rain.

Met department said that Malam Jabba received 20 mm of rain, while Kakul 16mm, Peshawar 2mm, Takhta Bhai 2mm and Cherat 1mm.

Earlier, Met department had issued warning about torrential rains, generating flash flood in local streams of Galiyat, Mansehra, Kohistan, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Nowshera and Swabi,

It had warned that heavy downpour might cause urban flooding in low lying areas of Nowshera and Peshawar while landslide could block roads closure in hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, during the wet period.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2024