Torrential rains continued to leave a trail of destruction in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) on Monday, triggering a deadly roof collapse in Swabi district that claimed nine lives -- all of them from one family.
The roof collapse occurred in an Afghan refugee camp located in the Gandaf area of Swabi district.
The District Coordination Officer in Swabi, Muhammad Shah, told reporters that the roof of the mud house in the refugee camp collapsed following a heavy downpour in the area.
The supporting pillar of the house collapsed at the time when Muhammad Akbar’s family was present in the house. According to him, locals rushed to the site and pulled out the bodies buried under the debris.
Station House Officer Mushtaq Hussain at Gandaf police station told The Express Tribune that a police team rushed to the spot and could hear some of the victims crying out for help. Hussain said it took more than an hour to clear the debris but by then it was too late. “Nine of them were already dead, including children and guests while three others were injured.”
He identified the dead as Malalai, wife of Muhammad Akbar, their two sons and daughters Suliman, Haroon, Haleema and Fatima. Sherin Taja, Akbar’s sister who was visiting along with her daughter Aisha, her son Yasir and her mother-in-law Shamsi Bibi were also killed.
The injured were identified as Abdur Rasheed, Naseer Ahmad and Shabnam.
Floods ravage homes in D I Khan
Flash floods triggered by rain have washed away dozens of houses and partially damaged many others in the main town and villages of Paher Pur tehsil in D I Khan district, an official of the district government of D I Khan told The Express Tribune.
In Pehar Pur town, rainwater inundated several houses in the newly constructed Karim City colony, washing some of them away.
The damage caused was higher in the surrounding areas of Pehar Pur. In Wanda Khaliq Shah, about 23 houses were wholly or partially damaged, with most of the homes belonging to internally displaced people living in rented houses.
A further four homes in Ameer Shah, three in Civil Raj, eight in Bhadan and five in Sadgee villages were damaged by the downpour. “The damage caused is of large scale,” a local resident of Pehar Pur, Abdullah told The Express Tribune. Abdullah added the absence of a drainage system in the area led to the rainwater accumulating in houses, causing them to collapse.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2012.
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