Damp days: Lightning kills man as fresh spell of rain hits the city

Cloudy weather to last in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa till mid-week

PESHAWAR: A fresh spell of torrential rain in Peshawar and most of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa caused the mercury level to fall on Monday. The inclement weather also claimed a man’s life in Bazid Khel in Badhaber.

Wet wet wet

“The rain spell entered from the north western side and forecast suggests Peshawar and most parts of K-P will remain cloudy till Tuesday morning,” an official of the meteorological department in Peshawar told The Express Tribune. “Another low-intensity weather system is expected to hit the region, extending the spell of the downpour till May 13.”

The official said they recorded 6mm of rainfall in the provincial capital from morning till 2pm. Similarly, the department recorded 6mm rain in Cherat, 6mm in Saidu Sharif, 4mm in Balakot and 2mm rain in Kohat.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority and officials from different government departments held a meeting at the Civil Secretariat on Monday to prepare a contingency plan.

Prepared for the worst?

According to a press release issued by PDMA, Director General Amer Afaq said they are prepared to cope with the upcoming monsoon. He briefed participants on the contingency plan for 2015 and the stock of relief items available with the authority. “The provincial and district governments have also taken steps to remove encroachments on riverbanks to protect people from any disaster.”

National Disaster Management Authority’s Major General Asghar Nawaz chaired the meeting and said a warning system will soon be set up on the national level and will later be implemented in the provinces. He said concrete measures are required to be taken at the union council level to deal with unexpected disasters.

Lightning strikes

One person was killed on Monday in a weather-related incident. The man was identified as Tariq Shah, 25.

Shah was killed when he was struck by lightning while out in the fields in Bazid Khel.

The incident occurred at noon on Monday and he was rushed to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2015.