Weather turns: Two children die in windstorm

PESHAWAR: At least two children died and 59 people were injured when a powerful windstorm lashed Bannu district in the wee hours of Wednesday, causing losses to property as well.

According to a statement issued from Bannu DC’s office, the calamity claimed lives of 15-year-old Nirmal Bibi and 10-year-old Hammad. “Most of the injured were treated at District Headquarters Hospital Bannu, while five where shifted to Peshawar for further treatment,” the statement read. The casualties resulted from excessive damage to boundary walls of houses. “The damages are still being assessed,” Provincial Disaster Management Authority Spokesperson Latifur Rehman said. In a similar incident on August 7, nearly 70 houses were damaged in Lakki Marwat, a district close to Bannu.

PDMA had earlier issued a weather warning that monsoon — from low pressure areas over northeast Rajasthan — was likely to move slightly northwestwards during the next 24 hours. Under the influence of this weather system, strong monsoon currents are expected to penetrate in upper and central parts of the country during the next 48 hours.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2016.