Torrential rains wreak havoc in K-P

Monsoon downpour has killed four people

SHANGLA/PESHAWAR:

Torrential rains wreaked havoc in Shangla district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday causing dozens of houses to collapse and roads to submerge.

On Monday flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed four people, including two minor girls, blocked roads and destroyed houses in several districts of the province.

The recent spell of monsoon also disrupted traffic on the main highway of Shangla as vehicles were stuck in long queues on the road.

Amid heavy downpour on Tuesday, landslides damaged properties and vehicles — a hotel collapsed at Bada Gutta area near Alpuri, two vehicles were hit and local hydroelectric power plants were also damaged.

Meanwhile, link roads were completely washed away.

The monsoon rains in Shangla intensified in the middle of the night, causing many houses to collapse, severely damaging orchards, fruit trees and standing crops in the fields.

The relief work was being carried out by welfare organizations, including 1122. The administration asked the teams concerned to report the damage caused by rains, landslides and other mishaps.

Rescue 1122 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has been engaged in providing relief to the rain affected people in different districts of the province lashed by torrential rain.

Heavy downpour in different districts of K-P, including Abbotabad, Shangla, Manshera, Battagram, Swat and Lower Dir caused flash floods which damaged public property, according to a press release issued by Rescue 1122 Director General Dr Muhammad Khateer.

Khateer said the rescue body also received reports of killing of several people in Lower Dir and Mansehra districts.

During the last 24 hours, he continued, different areas in Abbotabad were inundated, including PMA road, AMC Hospital, Karakorum Highway, Hassan Town and Kala Bridge.

Read More: Monsoon rains: nine K-P districts declared sensitive

Rescue 1122 has shifted 23 patients and injured to different hospitals, of whom the condition of three was serious.

In Abbotabad district, some 70 people were shifted to safe places, said Khateer, adding at least 72 vehicles stuck in flash floods were taken out from the gushing waters.

Landslides were also reported in the Bada Gatta area in Shangla district causing partial damage to a hotel with no casualty.

Keeping in view monsoon rains, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) issued special directives for the general public to avoid electrocution.

According to a press release issued by PESCO, the power company requested customers to adopt precautionary measures to avoid electrocution and electric shocks for their own safety.

(With input from APP)

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2021.