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Today's Paper | April 28, 2026

Published 05 Apr, 2026 05:54am

Flood alert issued as 120 people rescued from Peshawar’s rain-hit areas

PESHAWAR: Rescue 1122 issued a flood advisory for low-lying areas in Peshawar along the Budhni nullah after several neighbourhoods were inundated due to heavy rains on Saturday.

The Budhni nullah recorded mid-level flooding after heavy rains, according to spokesman for Rescue 1122 Bilal Ahmad Faizi.

He said that at least 120 people were rescued from the inundated areas.

Mr Faizi said Rescue 1122 teams were working in Safia Homes, Warsak Road, Shaheen Housing, Budhni Pul, Sardar Colony, Board Bazaar, Bara Pul and Umar Gul Road areas to drain rainwater.

Roof collapses, road closures, power suspension reported in different districts

The flood advisory was issued for the areas close to the nullah and low-lying areas near the Kabul River.

Rescue 1122 said that the Budhni nullah had a “mid-level” flood with a water discharge of 12,729 cusecs, while the Kabul River in Nowshera reported a low-level flood at 62,200 cusecs water discharge.

Meanwhile, four people were killed and at least 50 houses were damaged in rain-related incidents in Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber tribal district on Friday and Saturday.

Rescue officials said three people, including a father and a son, lost lives when a car they were travelling in was washed away by flash floods in Walikhel locality on Saturday morning.

Rescue workers recovered the bodies from the rainwater stream in Ali Masjid area. The deceased included Fazal Mohammad, his young son, Niaz Mohammad, and relative Qadoos Khan. A minor boy was killed when the roof of a house collapsed at midnight in the Alacha area.

Officials said that they have recorded reports of wall and house collapses in Khugakhel, Peerokhel, Zakhakhel, Meerdadkhel and parts of Jamrud tehsil.

Also, a woman and two children were injured in a roof collapse incident in the Lora Pul area of Miryan tehsil in Bannu district due to heavy rain.

Residents and Rescue 1122 teams launched a rescue operation and recovered the three from under the debris.

The injured woman was provided first aid and shifted to the district headquarters hospital, while the condition of both children is reported to be critical.

Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 sent teams to the nearby flooded Khani Kla area to shift the stranded nomadic families to to safety.

Heavy rains accompanied by strong winds wreaked havoc in parts of Mohmand district overnight, leaving six people injured, destroying homes and killing livestock, officials said.

They said a room collapsed in the Kamali Wazir Dag area of Haleemzai tehsil in Upper Mohmand district, injuring three women and three girls.

The downpour also caused significant livestock losses in multiple areas. In Khweizai tehsil’s Mazrina village, a veranda caved in, killing 21 goats and sheep.

In Pandiali tehsil’s Yakh Dhund Tamanzai area, two sheep were killed after a room collapsed in the house of Muntazir Khan. According to the district administration, widespread damage has been reported in several tehsils.

Heavy rains, accompanied by gusty winds, reduced temperatures and caused widespread traffic disruption in Dera Ismail Khan city and its adjoining areas on Friday night, officials and residents said. They said strong winds uprooted trees and disrupted electric supply in multiple areas, suspending power supply.

In the Sheikh Yousaf Adda area, the roof of a building collapsed, burying eight vehicles under debris. A solar power system was also damaged.

In parts of the city and its outskirts, uprooted trees fell onto roads, disrupting traffic to the misery of travellers. The power infrastructure was also affected, leading to prolonged outages in several feeders.

Meanwhile, a landslide blocked a key road in Darazinda tehsil, halting traffic and stranding travellers for hours.

Heavy hailstorm was reported in the Sardariwala Chashma area, raising concerns among farmers about potential damage to their standing crops.

Residents said intermittent rain continued all through the night, resulting in water accumulation in low-lying areas and affecting the drainage system.

Authorities have yet to issue a comprehensive damage assessment, while work to restore drainage is under way.

Upper parts of Hazara Division received heavy snowfall after a gap of over a month, causing severe cold across the region.

“Our area is in the grip of intense cold following snowfall after over a month,” a resident of Lower Kaghan Valley told reporters in Balakot.

The snowfall, which started in the early hours in Kaghan Valley, Manoor Valley, Siren and Konsh valleys in Mansehra, as well as Spat and Kandia valleys in Kohistan, continued intermittently throughout the day.

Rain also lashed Mansehra, Torghar, Upper and Lower Kohistan and Kolai-Palas districts, triggering landslides.

Snowfall and landslides blocked link roads connecting dozens of villages to main highways in high-altitude areas.

In Lakki Marwat district, several low-lying areas were inundated due to torrential rains, prompting the district administration to mobilise the rescue emergency service and other relevant agencies to launch rescue and relief operations.

A Rescue 1122 official said that heavy rain started in the evening on Friday and continued until the next morning.

He said that the downpour caused high flooding in the River Gambila flowing near Lakki city and inundated houses in the Baghban and Khoidadkhel localities of the city area.

Residents said that flood water entered their houses, forcing them to shift to safer places. They said that they had a sleepless night due to flooding fear.

The official said that houses were evacuated in the inundated areas, with residents shifted to safer places.

He said that the emergency staff members took part in the rescue and relief operations and helped shift valuables from submerged houses to safety.

Residents of the Dall Mills area also moved to the houses of relatives, fearing raging torrents in the Gambila River.

In the Ghundi Mirankhel area of Karak district, two people, including a 45-year-old woman and a five-year-old boy, were injured when the roof of their house collapsed due to torrential rains.

A Rescue 1122 official said that a medical team was immediately dispatched along with an ambulance to shift the injured to the district headquarters hospital.

Torrential rain and flash flooding also disrupted traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab via the Lakki-Darra Tang section of Bannu-Mianwali Road.

Rescue 1122 set up a point near Gambila Bridge in Lakki city for prompt response to any emergency.

The official said that trained rescue workers along with vehicles and necessary rescue equipment had been deployed at the point to ensure monitoring of the water level in the river and public safety and launch an immediate response in case of any untoward situation.

In the Kurram tribal district, a road adjacent to the Samir Basto Bridge in the Kurram River was washed away by the floodwaters, leaving thousands of residents without a road.

A young man was wounded as the heavy downpour damaged several houses and infrastructure in Bajaur tribal district.

Rescue 1122 officials said Ajab Gul, 16, was injured when the roof of his house collapsed in the Mena area of Lowi Mamund tehsil.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2026

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