2 children killed in Shangla as heavy rains damage houses, block major roads in KP

Published September 1, 2020
A road caved in due to flooding in Khan Khwar near Ranyal in Shangla. — Photo: Umar Bacha
A road caved in due to flooding in Khan Khwar near Ranyal in Shangla. — Photo: Umar Bacha

At least two people were killed and seven others injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Shangla district in various incidents as widespread rains damaged houses and blocked major arteries in parts of the province on Tuesday, officials said.

Shangla Deputy Commissioner Imran Hussain Ranjha said a house collapsed in Batkot area of Bisham tehsil, leaving two minor brothers, 8-year-old Idrees and 4-year-old Raees, dead.

In another incident, the roof of a house collapsed during a wedding in Malak Khel area of Alpuri tehsil where five people were injured.

According to Ranjha, due to flooding in streams caused by the heavy rains, the Karakoram Highway (KKH) had been blocked at Shang and other points, while the Bisham-Swat road was washed away near Ranyal suspension bridge, leading to the route's closure for all traffic. Other important link roads were also blocked or damaged due to the rains.

AC Bisham Khuram Rehman visits the site of flooding in a stream on KKH at Shang, Bisham in Shangla. — Photo courtesy: AC Rehman's Facebook page
AC Bisham Khuram Rehman visits the site of flooding in a stream on KKH at Shang, Bisham in Shangla. — Photo courtesy: AC Rehman's Facebook page

Several animals were also killed when a house collapsed in Chakesar area.

The DC Shangla said information regarding rain-related incidents was being collected from different parts of the district.

The KKH was also blocked at several points in Lower and Upper Kohistan, with hundreds of vehicles stuck on roads due to the blockade.

Local police said the flood swept away water mills, mini power stations and wooden suspension bridges in Kohistan. A flooding situation was also observed in the Dubair, Pattan and Indus rivers.

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Upper Kohistan DC Arif Khan Yousafzai urged the public to avoid unnecessary travel in the district to prevent any untoward incident.

Torrential rains have disrupted routine life in the Abasin region and the area has been without electricity for more than eight hours.

Similarly, roads in Mansehra district including the Mansehra-Naran road was blocked at several points due to land sliding, ADC Mansehra Maqbool Hussain said.

7 houses damaged

Across KP, the recent rains have left seven houses partially damaged and one completely damaged, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a statement, adding that the people injured in various incidents were swiftly shifted to hospitals.

Landslide blocks the Alpuri-Puran road near Deharai, Shangla. — Photo: Umar Bacha
Landslide blocks the Alpuri-Puran road near Deharai, Shangla. — Photo: Umar Bacha

Two houses were damaged in Buner and Shangla each while one house each was damaged in Karak, Lower Kohistan, Swabi and Swat.

The PDMA said rescue and relief efforts were ongoing in the affected areas while the respective district administrations had been directed to assess the losses incurred due to damages.

Steps are also being taken to unblock closed roads, it added.

The authority's director general said the PDMA emergency operations centre was "fully functional" and residents could report any incident on its 1700 helpline.

According to the statement, Peshawar and other northern areas were seeing a heavy spell of rain while flooding was reported in storm-water drains in Swat, Chitral and Kohistan.

Last Friday, at least 20 people were killed and nine suffered injuries in flash floods caused by cloudbursts in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Also, landslides hit vehicles in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, killing a truck driver and injuring several others.

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