Death toll climbs to 27 in K-P rains

Province declares extreme weather emergency amid torrential rains, snowfall

PESHAWAR: Another nine people were killed and 12 others sustained injuries in rain-related incidents on Sunday as the death toll from the ongoing spell of rains climbed to 27 during the current spell of rain in the province. With torrential rains wreaking havoc across the province, the provincial government has declared a weather emergency.

A report issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Sunday said that four people were killed in fresh rain-related incidents. The PDMA’s tally, though, said that the toll in rain-related incidents is 21, while 87 houses have been partially damaged in the province. In a report released on Saturday, the PDMA had said that at least 17 people had been killed while 57 had been injured.

However, rescue workers suggested that the toll could be higher. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Rescue 1122 officials in Mardan on Sunday said that a man identified as Ziaul Haq sustained injuries while his minor son died when the roof of their house collapsed in the Lwandkhwar area of Takhbhai tehsil, Mardan. The injured was shifted to a nearby hospital, the officials said.

Similarly, Rescue 1122 officials further said that in another incident in the Takht-e-Bahi tehsil of Mardan, a woman was seriously injured when the wall of her house came crashing down. She was rushed to the Mardan district headquarters hospital.

In Dag Ismailkhel area of Nowshera, the roof of a house caved in, injuring three members of a family, including 42-year-old Muhammad Shafi, nine-year-old Umar and eight-year-old Jawariya. The injured were shifted to a hospital in Pabbi.

Meanwhile, the Swabi police said that at least three people were killed, including two minors, when a cattle shed collapsed in the Yar Hussain area of the district. Locals retrieved the bodies trapped under the debris on a self-help basis.

Another three minors were killed while three others injured when the roof of a house caved in the Tangi tehsil of Charsadda district. Local authorities told media that at least two minors were killed and eight others were injured when a house collapsed in the Bara tehsil of Khyber tribal district early on Sunday.

Locals recovered the bodies trapped under the debris while the injured were shifted to the Dogra hospital for treatment.

Weather emergency

To provide shelter and food to the citizens affected by the ongoing rains and cold wave, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government on Sunday invoked Section 16(A)(i) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Act 2010, to declare a weather emergency from March 7 to 14.

Meanwhile, the PDMA distributed relief items amongst families affected by rain and landslides in several districts of the province. The PDMA said that efforts are underway to clear landslides which have blocked the Karakorum Highway on various spots, especially near Gilgit.

The disaster mitigation authority has set up interim accommodation facilitates for the rain-affected families. Schools and other governments facilities will also be used for providing shelter to the affected families, the authority added.

Weather forecast

The Pakistan Meteorological Office on Sunday said that a fresh spell of rain and thunderstorms – with hailstorm – is expected at isolated places across the province.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2020.