Death toll in rain-related incidents climbs to six

The death toll in rain-related incidents has reached six as more than 25 people also sustained injuries in torrential rains across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Most of the districts in the province recorded rainfall starting from Monday and well into Saturday night which increased the element of chill in the air and made the weather pleasant but the showers also resulted in incidents of roof collapses.

“Rainfall was recorded in Peshawar, Khyber tribal district, Shergarh, Mardan, South Waziristan, Bannu, Tank and other districts,” said an official of Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

The downpour resulted in the flooding of nullahs and streams and damaged standing crops.

The rainwater submerged low-lying areas in most urban suburbs, entering homes and disturbing traffic.

In Peshawar 12 mm rainfall has been recorded.

Two children were killed in roof collapse incidents in Mardan district while one death each was reported in Peshawar and South Waziristan.

A woman was killed in the Tirah valley of Khyber tribal district in a roof collapse episode.

Local residents said that the roof of a room in the house of Faqir Khan suddenly caved in after heavy rains in the Malikdin Khel area of Tirah and his wife was buried under the debris.

“Local residents tried to rescue her and she was taken out of the debris but she was already dead,” they said.

Similarly, one man was injured in a separate roof collapse incident in the Nala area of Bara.

In yet another roof collapse incident three heads of cattle were killed in Mardan and three others in South Waziristan, inflicting financial losses on local farmers.

Across the province six houses have been left damaged in torrential downpour.

The rainfall in Tank district resulted in high flooding in streams. As a result several villages were left completely cut off from the rest of the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2023.