Nature’s wrath: Six die as rain, storm lashes K-P, FATA

Dozens of others reported injured in K-P and FATA

PESHAWAR: At least six people died and dozens of others, including children, were injured in separate incidents when rain and dust storms hit parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal belt on Wednesday evening.

A woman died when the roof of her house caved in in Shakas , Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency during a heavy rainstorm. According to locals, three children of the woman also came under the debris, but were rescued. However, they sustained injuries. Another person was died in the same area.

Two more deaths were reported from Peshawar and one from Kurram Agency. A six-year-old boy died while a girl was injured in Umarzai, Charsadda.

Meanwhile, a Rescue 1122 official said a man was injured in a wall collapse during the rainstorm in Kohat, but he was rescued and taken to hospital. Five people were also reportedly injured in a separate incident as roofs and walls collapsed in Mardan. Several injuries were also reported from other parts of the region, but mostly Nowshera district headquarters were at least 17 people were wounded.



The storm meant lower temperatures in the province and tribal areas. However, orchards of plum, peach and apricot were damaged. The Peshawar region Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) told The Express Tribune that “dust storms, but with light rain” were expected in the area.  The department recorded a 14millimetres shower in Peshawar and a PMD official said they had been expecting this weather system for the last three days. “The atmospheric pressure in our areas was low over the past couple of days due to the warm weather. We are expecting a dust storm in the region,” said PMD Peshawar Region Director Mushtaq Shah.

He said the interaction of western winds from Afghanistan with the warm weather system of Pakistan generated the dust storm. Shah said areas from Kohat to upper K-P, including Peshawar, Mardan, Malakand Division and Hazara Division, were affected by widespread rain and storms. The department recoded 60 km/h winds in a southwesterly direction in Peshawar and called it a medium level storm.

According to a PDMA release, heavy rain and dust storm lashed Peshawar and Pabbi, Nowshera. At least four people died - two from Peshawar, one from Nowshera and another from Charsadda.

“The storm brought wind speeds up to between 110 kilometres and 130 kilometes per hour,” the PDMA release stated. “As a result, a large number of houses were damaged. In addition, trees fell on electric poles in various parts of the province. This resulted in power breakdowns.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2016.