PESHAWAR: Heavy rains and floods continued to play havoc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with four people losing life and 14 suffering injuries in separate incidents in Karak district on Wednesday.

The calamity also killed a woman in Barachinagai area of Wara Mamund tehsil in Bajaur district.

Widespread damage to roads, houses and crops was reported in other districts.

Villages and towns in Swabi, Bajaur, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and Battagram districts were submerged by floodwaters with the residents struggling to cope with the damage caused by torrential rains.

The flash floods damaged roads and infrastructure in Swabi and Karak districts, which were worst hit by the natural calamity. Rescue and relief operations were launched for the families stranded in floodwaters.

Roads, bridges, crops damaged; authorities launch rescue, relief operations

The workers complained that damaged bridges and roads made it difficult for them to reach the people.

Widespread damage to houses and crops was reported in Guddikhel, Fateh Sheri, Chokara, Aminkhel, Ghuni Kallay, Sarki Lawaghar, Warana, Ahmadabad, Khamedan Chowk and Babelkhel areas in Takht-i-Nasrati tehsil of Karak district.

Businessmen and traders of Khamedan and other areas complained of suffering huge losses due to flash floods.

The district administration said its teams had evacuated people from calamity-hit areas, while relief operations were also under way across the district.

It said floods had claimed seven lives in the district during the last three days with four being reported on Wednesday.

Heavy rains paralysed life in several Swabi villages as well. Rainwater damaged property, killed cattle and destroyed standing crops in Tandkoi, Anbar, Kalabat, Sheikh Dheri, Marguz and other villages in the district.

“For the first time in my life, I have witnessed life being turned upside by torrential rains and floods,” Rashid Khan of Kunda area told Dawn.

Residents of low-lying areas in Anbar and Hund villages complained that rainwater entered their houses damaging goods and appliances and forcing them to move to safer places to save life.

The downpour caused damages to public property in Kalabat, Zarobai and Kaddi villages and other parts of Topi tehsil, several areas in Yar Hussain region, and many localities in Tordher, Jalbai, Jehangira, Kaya, Thano, Chota Lahor, Adina, Ismailia, Kalu Khan, Maneri, Gohati, Saleem Khan, Jalssi, Jalbai Shahmansoor and Baja Bamkhel areas.

Flash floods inundated Wanda Akhundan village near Kurram Bridge in Lakki Marwat area prompting the district administration and police to launch rescue and relief activities.

Officials of the district administration said police and Rescue 1122 personnel had been dispatched to the flood-hit area in large numbers to rescue people.

They said embankments had prevented large-scale destruction to public property and minimised damages.

Authorities used heavy machinery to restore the road between Salgazi Neeka area of Wazir subdivision and Bannu city, which closed due to the continuous rains.

The Pakistan Army and Frontier Corps personnel distributed relief goods to victims of flash floods in Pai Union Council of Tank district.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2022