PESHAWAR: Four people, including two children, were killed and three suffered injuries in rain-related incidents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), two deaths were reported in Karak and Upper Dir districts each due to heavy rains and flash floods.

Three houses were damaged in Karak, Upper Dir and Shangla districts.

The PDMA said two children were killed and three injured in Karak district after the collapse of a wall.

The police in Karak district said the children were on the way to their home in Sirajkhel area of Takht-i-Nusrati tehsil when they stopped next to a wall due to heavy rain. The wall later collapsed injuring the children.

Met Office warns downpour could trigger urban flooding, landslides

The rescue personnel pulled them out from under the rubble. However, Sudain, 10, and his sister, Eman, died. The other three were provided with treatment in a hospital.

Two tourists were killed after the car, which they travelled in, was swept away by floodwaters in Patharak area of Upper Dir district. The police recovered the bodies.

The flash floods led to the closure of roads in Gangshal and Sheringal areas of Upper Dir district, while rains coupled with hailstorm lashed parts of Lower Dir district.

A car along with the driver fell into the Panjkora River in Khall area due to the flooding of a stream.

However, the Rescue 1122 and disaster management workers recovered the driver and his car. Several link roads in the district were blocked by landslides.

Hailstorm damaged tomato crops in Norakhel area of Lower Dir district, while floodwaters washed away orchards and standing crops along the river in the Panjkora River. No casualty was reported in the district.

In Swat district, floodwater entered houses and inundated roads in different areas of the district damaging goods and inconveniencing the residents.

The torrential rain began on Sunday night and continued until Monday evening. The flash floods blocked roads in Saidu Sharif, Balogram, Amankot, Rahimabad, Qambar, Haji Baba, Gumbat Maira, Faizabad, Mingora and several other areas suspending traffic for long hours.

Residents of the affected areas said floodwaters had entered houses for the second time in the current month.

Adalat Khan of Balogram area told Dawn that his house was flooded last week damaging goods, boxes and furniture.

The floodwaters brought debris and mud along blocking GT Road near Balogram and Rahimabad area and Mingora-Saidu Road in Amankot area for hours.

The torrential rain uprooted a roadside tree in Saidu Sharif damaging a car. However, the five people present in the car were safe.

Also, upper parts of Hazara division recorded heavy rainfall, which eased the hot and humid weather.

The rain began at noon in Mansehra, Balakot, Torghar, Oghi and other parts of Hazara division and continued intermittently until 4pm.

The roads and streets in Mansehra city and its suburbs were flooded by rains. The rainwater entered some houses damaging goods.

According to Rescue 1122, no damage to life and property was reported in the district.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast from fairlywidespread to widespreadrainfall coupled with thunderstormandstrong gusty winds in Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Swat, Lower and Upper Dir, Bajaur, Malakand, Chitral, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Peshawar, Charsadda, Mohmand, Khyber, Kohat,Hangu, Karak, Kurram, Orakzai, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, DI Khan, Tank, andNorthand South Waziristan districts.

It warned that moderate-heavy rainfall could generate flash floods in nullahs and streams of those districts and trigger landslides and urban flooding in different parts of the province.

Meanwhile, the district administration of Peshawar along with the PDMA and other relevant departments has set up a control room to monitor the monsoon situation in the area.

In a statement, it said the relevant officials visited the River Kabul on Monday to check water flow.

The administration said the control room would remain operational round the clock.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2021