Casualties: Heavy rain claims three more lives in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

Vehicles also swept away in parts of province; met department predicts more rain

BANNU/ABBOTTABAD: Further rains and more deaths were witnessed in the province as three people were killed.

A man was killed and three people were injured when a car was swept away in flashfloods triggered by heavy rainfall in Speena Tangi area of Domail tehsil in Bannu late on Sunday night.

According to the police, Usman Gul was driving along with Muhammad Wazir, Muhammad Nawaz and another person when their car was swept away by an overflowing drain. Locals rescued the injured people and shifted them to the Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital of Bannu.

Meanwhile, a couple was killed when the roof of their mud house collapsed in the remote village of Kothiala union council, some 15 kilometres from Abbottabad, on Monday morning. Police and locals said Muhammad Miskeen, 49, and his wife Sarwar Jan, 42, were asleep in the room of their house which was damaged in the rain. On Monday morning, the roof caved in and both people were crushed under the debris. Locals tried to recover their remains, but were unable to do so despite an hour-long effort.

Vehicles swept away

Floods triggered by heavy rain swept away seven vehicles of a construction company in Chitral in the wee hours of Monday morning.

Dozens of people were stranded due to heavy flooding and damage to roads of the Lowari Tunnel, reported locals. They claimed work was under way for the construction of a steel plant and power plant by a company. However, the floods swept away the generator, the under construction steel plant and roads adjacent to the Lowari Tunnel. Drivers and other commuters saved themselves by abandoning their vehicles and moving to safer ground, claimed an eyewitness.

According to Chitral DC Usama Warraich, the Dir-Chitral Road and Peshawar-Chitral Road were closed due to a landslide caused by heavy rain.

The road connecting Baradam and Matti Khuwar was also blocked by a landslide which occurred in the late hours of Sunday. However, heavy machinery, including bulldozers and excavators of local contractors, were sent to clear the area, he said.

Meanwhile, the PDMA is in contact with the district administration to cope with the matter.

A few days ago, the Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a warning of a possible glacial lake outburst flood (GLFO) in vulnerable areas of Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan from July 15 till July 19. Local communities were advised to remain alert and authorities were instructed to take precautionary measures.

The met department predicted heavy rain, flooding and landslides in vulnerable areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, G-B and Kashmir.

About 29 people have lost their lives in Chitral alone between July 1 and 18 due to GLOF, floods and heavy rainfall. Around 20 houses were completely destroyed and 35 partially damaged. A total of 41 people lost their lives in K-P during the month of July in rain-related incidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2016.