KHAR: Three people, including two children, were killed and five others suffered injuries in wall collapse incidents, as strong windstorm hit different areas of Bajaur Agency and Lower Dir on Saturday. Meanwhile, the upper parts of Hazara division and Shangla received heavy rain.

In Khar, officials of the administration said that Mazhar Khan, 7, was killed and two other children identified as Safeena Bibi and Iqra Bibi were injured when wall of their house fell due to strong winds in Barkholozo area of Mamond tehsil.

According to the local people, the dead and the injured belonged to the same family.

Similarly, Asia Bibi, 6, was killed while Khuzaifa, 8, was wounded when roof of a house of one Wisal Khan collapsed in Entro Mena area of Mamond tehsil on Saturday afternoon owing to strong winds.

The officials said that Sher Mohammad, 40, belonged was injured when a tree fell on him in Pashat area of Salarzai tehisl. Also in the day, Farmanullah, 10, was wounded when wall of his house collapsed in Sadiqabad town of Khar tehsil.

All the injured were taken to the agency headquarters hospital, Khar.

In Timergara, a schoolteacher was killed when windstorm coupled with rain hit parts of Lower Dir for the second consecutive day on Saturday.

In Timergara, a schoolteacher identified as Sahibzada was killed when a wall fell on him due to strong windstorm at Shekawlai village, according to the residents. They said the teacher had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly collapsed. As a result, he died on the spot. Several trees and hoardings on roadsides also fell to the ground causing problems for the motorists.

The windstorm also disrupted power supply to Jandol, Khall, Timergara and Talash areas which could not be restored in eight hours.

The local government representatives from Sultankhel council, including Fazal Sharif, Hayat Khan and Anwarul Haq, meanwhile, complained that duration of power outages had reached 20 hours in their area.

In Shangla, heavy rainfall continued for the second consecutive day on Saturday.

The rain started in Bisham, Alpuri, Puran, Chakesar, Martung, Shahpur Karora, Dandai and other parts Shangla on Friday and it continued for the second consecutive day. Pools of rainwater mixed with sewage could be seen in Bisham city creating trouble for the pedestrians.

Sources said that Swat-Bisham road and link roads of the district were blocked due to landslides while electricity in Bisham city and adjoining areas remained suspended.

When contacted, Pesco sub-divisional officer Mohammad Ali told this scribe that power supply was suspended because of fault in the main transmission. He said that repair work would start when the rain would stop. An official at Karora police station said that dwellers of Karora locality had vacated their houses and shifted to safer places, fearing landslides.

In Mansehra, the upper parts of Hazara division on Saturday received heavy downpour which brought a pleasant change in the weather. The rain stared at about 6:00pm in Mansehra, Balakot, Battagram, Torghar and other parts of the district and continued till late in the night.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2017