PESHAWAR, Aug 17: Torrential rains have claimed seven more lives in the NWFP, bringing the death toll from this week’s flash floods to 15, officials said Saturday.

Up to 100 mud-houses were also destroyed and dozens of cattle perished in two villages near Peshawar as monsoon rains lashed the province, Azam Afridi of the district administration said.

Four Afghan refugees were killed when the roof of their mud-house collapsed late Thursday in Hangu district, 75kms southwest of here, officials said.

An Afghan refugee girl and a local man were electrocuted when live wires snapped in two separate villages near Hangu, while gushing water swept away a man who was collecting wood from a seasonal drain, they said.

Eight people were reported killed in Dir district earlier in the week, officials said, adding that 24 villages had been badly affected in the area.

Army and police teams engaged in rescue operations have distributed food and tents as floodwater and landslides cut roads and other communication links and damaged crops in the area, they said.

Residents in affected areas have complained the authorities made no advance arrangements to prevent losses from the flood waters.—AFP