25 people killed as rains wreak havoc in K-P, Punjab

Most accidents occurred due to roof, wall collapses

LAKKI MARWAT:

Torrential pre-monsoon rains and floods unleashed devastation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, leaving at least 25 dead and hundreds injured, disaster management authorities said on Saturday.

In Punjab, there were reports of four deaths from rain-related incidents. The deaths occurred in Khushab and Hafizabad districts, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a statement.

K-P’s southern districts, including Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak, bore the brunt of powerful storms that swept away homes, uprooted trees and electricity pylons and left hundreds of people stranded, the officials said.

According to Director General Rescue 1122, at least 12 people were killed in Bannu, five in Lakki Marwat and four were killed in Karak. More than 140 people were injured due to wind and storm in the areas, he said, adding that most of the accidents occurred due to uprooting of roofs and collapsing of walls.

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K-P Interim Information Minister Barrister Feroze Jamal Kakakhel said in a statement that the provincial government was in touch with district administrators in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak.

Hospitals in the affected areas had been put on high alert while Rescue 1122 and the PDMA were conducting rescue operations, he said.

Streets in K-P are submerged due to heavy downpour and overflowing of nullahs whereas power supply has been disconnected in several parts of the cities.

Five people, including three children and a woman, were killed in Lakki Marwat due to wall collapsing while 26 injured have been shifted to tehsil hospital.

Several canals and nullahs in Mingora, Swat and its adjoining areas are overflowed because of the devastating rains whereas there are also reports of hailstones in the city.

The rescue teams of the Pakistan Army have initiated relief efforts in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak – most-affected parts of K-P.
They shifted the injured to district hospitals whereas an emergency has been declared in the government hospitals in Bannu district.

Meanwhile, according to the PDMA, four people were killed in rain-related incidents in different districts of Punjab.
Three girls died after the wall of their house collapsed in Khushab district whereas a man was killed in Hafizabad in a similar incident.

At least 10 people were injured and several trees were uprooted in Punjab.

In different areas of the region including Gujranwala, 100 feeders of Gepco tripped after which several parts of the division fell in darkness.

\Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and federal ministers have expressed grief over the loss of lives in the rain-related incidents and extended condolences to bereaved families, state-run APP reported, citing a statement issued by the premier’s media wing.

The prime minister directed the National Disaster Management Authority to ensure steps were taken for relief and rehabilitation in the affected areas and to work in cooperation with the PDMA and Rescue 1122.

Interim K-P Chief Minister Azam Khan expressed grief over the loss of lives and properties and prayed for the departed souls.

He directed the chief secretary and the divisional and district administrations concerned to pace up relief efforts.

With input from our correspondent in Lahore