Islamabad, July 21 (IANS) At least nine people were killed as torrential rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Khyber and several other districts of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported on Tuesday.
Fatalities were reported in Khyber, Mardan and Bajaur while flash floods and cloudbursts damaged roads, bridges, houses, shops, fish farms, orchards, crops and public infrastructure in Mansehra, Abbottabad, Chitral, Shangla and other districts, suspending traffic movement and disrupting electricity and communication networks, leading Pakistani daily ‘The News International’ reported.
“The bodies of two young men were recovered in Landikotal, while the bodies of four others, including a woman and a child, were recovered from different areas of Jamrud,” The News International quoted Rescue 1122 spokesman Bilal Ahmad Faizi as saying.
He said two children were killed after the roof of a house collapsed during heavy rain in Mardan while another person died in Bajaur, increasing the death toll to nine. A video of a man requesting for help while trapped in floodwaters in Khyber district went viral on social media. He was eventually swept away by the strong current.
Rescue 1122 spokesperson said his body was recovered from Regi Khwar and taken to hospital. Officials said over 50 Rescue 1122 personnel, including specialised diving teams, carried out rescue operations in Khyber district.
Roads and houses were damaged and traffic movement was disrupted for several hours after flash floods triggered by cloudbursts during monsoon rains wreaked havoc in Landikotal, Torkham and other parts of Khyber district.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan highway remained shut for several hours after flash floods inundated roads at nine places where seasonal streams rose to dangerous levels. Several roads and houses were damaged, leaving Afghan nationals returning to Afghanistan stranded, The News International reported.
According to residents, a vehicle carrying Afghan people was swept away by flash floods in Landikotal while two other vehicles were submerged in flood waters near Zakaria Mosque in Landikotal and Sultankhel village. Local residents rescued the people who were travelling in the vehicles.
Earlier in June, seven people were killed and eight others were injured after heavy rains and windstorm lashed several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Roofs and walls of several houses and shops collapsed after windstorm and torrential rain lashed Paharpur city and surrounding villages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan. Rescue teams and local conducted relief operation to find victims from rubble and took the injured people to hospitals, Pakistan’s daily Dawn reported.
The deceased included a man from Paharpur, a man from Chah Dyal Bagwani and two women from Zandar village. Several trees in the tehsil were uprooted due to powerful winds while solar panels on houses and commercial buildings were blown away. Several animals were killed after a boundary wall and the livestock shelter collapsed in one suburban locality.
A total of three people were killed and four others were injured due to lightning in Orakzai tribal district. A Rescue 1122 official said that three people were killed and four others were injured in an incident that took place in Sam Ferozkhel area of lower Orakzai.
–IANS
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