Calm before the storm: Two more weather systems likely to hit K-P

PDMA report says 49 people killed in April 26’s mini-cyclone .

PESHAWAR:

After the mini-cyclone left nearly 50 people dead in Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa may have to brace itself for two more weather systems which are expected to enter the upper parts of the country.

According to a report provided by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the thunderstorms of April 26 left 49 people dead and 267 injured.

The wounded included 69 children and 88 women, according to
the report.

It added that PDMA received no warning from the Met department about the potentially disastrous weather conditions, adding such cyclone-like dust storms are rare for the region.



Red skies

The report also confirmed two more weather systems are expected to enter the upper parts of the country in the coming week.

“We have completed our survey in the three districts that fell along the path of the mini-cyclone,” said PDMA spokesperson Latifur Rehman. He added 91 houses were completely destroyed in Nowshera, while 1,064 were partially damaged.” He said the verification of surveys conducted in Peshawar and Charsadda is underway.

“When the verification process is completed, the owners of damaged houses will be compensated according to the policy adopted
for Nowshera.”

Funds for relief

PDMA Director General Amer Afaq has ordered district administrations to utilise all available resources for the relief and rescue efforts in the affected areas. An additional Rs36.5 million worth of funds was also released for the three administrations.

Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Riaz Mehsud received Rs25.5 in funds, Nowshera DC Rs6.4 million and DC Charsadda Rs4.4million in additional funds for relief and rescue operations.

The report says a special compensation package was awarded to affected people through which heirs of each deceased individual would get Rs300,000. Meanwhile Rs100,000 would be given for damaged houses with two rooms or more, while Rs80,000 was allotted for each fully damaged one-room house with fallen boundary walls. And Rs50,000 would be paid in compensation for a fully damaged one-room house, while Rs30,000 would be given for a collapsed boundary wall.



Refugee status

So far, administrations have distributed Rs12.3 million in compensation cheques among 41 families of deceased victims in the three districts. Officials told The Express Tribune that those who did not receive any compensation for deceased family members were Afghan nationals.

Peshawar DC Spokesperson Feroz Shah confirmed the death of two Afghan nationals in the city during the mini-cyclone. “We handed over 29 cheques. Two of the families were Afghan and we can’t give them compensation,” he said. “Their own government can compensate them,” he added.

The PDMA also set up six relief camps in three districts and ration for the month was distributed among affected families, said Rehman. He added the camps are now used for the assessment of damages.

On April 26, the menacing grey sky that formed over parts of K-P brought with it death and destruction for the people below. At the time, the Peshawar DC said rescue work was affected by blocked roads and a communication breakdown. With its sniffer dogs, ground penetrating radars and concrete cutters, the Pakistan Army also helped rescue efforts.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2015.