Flash floods sweep Orakzai in K-P as rains batter Punjab

Torrential rains under a recent weather system caused widespread destruction in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Orakzai district, while morning showers inundated low-lying areas of Lahore and parts of Punjab on Wednesday.

In Orakzai’s Mushti Mela area, heavy rainfall triggered flash floods that swept away dozens of shops and houses. Several vehicles and motorcycles caught in the floodwaters were also destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department forecast dry weather for most districts of Punjab, even as low-lying localities in Lahore and surrounding areas remained waterlogged following the morning downpour.

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Across K-P, the weather is expected to remain partly cloudy, with chances of rain accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorms in Chitral, Upper and Lower Dir, Bajaur, Swat, Buner, Malakand, Shangla and Kohistan. Similar conditions are anticipated in Torghar, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram, Orakzai and Waziristan districts.

During the past 24 hours, the weather remained partly cloudy across most districts of the province. Rain accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorms was recorded at a few places, including Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Kohat, Chitral, Swat, Lower Dir, Mohmand and Kohistan. Strong dusty winds also swept through the plains during this period, with a maximum wind speed of 37 kilometres per hour recorded in Peshawar.

Rainfall recorded over the last 24 hours included 18 millimetres in Cherat, 11 millimetres in Kalam, nine millimetres in Chitral, and four millimetres each in Peshawar city and Mohmand Dam. Takht Bhai received three millimetres, while Mirkhani, Drosh and Patan recorded two millimetres each, and Timergara received one millimetre of rain.

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Since March 25 to early April, as many as 50 people, including 26 children, lost their lives while 111 others were injured in rain-related incidents across various districts of K-P.

According to a report issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the fatalities included 26 children, 17 men, and seven women. “A total of 470 houses have been damaged, of which 409 sustained partial damage, and 61 were completely destroyed,” the report said.

Also in early April, at least six people were reportedly killed in separate rain-and wind-related incidents across Punjab and K-P as heavy downpours lashed parts of the country.