LAKKI MARWAT: Three people, including two children, were killed after torrential rains coupled with strong winds and hailstorm triggered flash floods in parts of Lakki Marwat district on Monday evening.

The rainstorm continued for about one hour, causing flash floods in watercourses and disrupting routine life. Several urban and rural localities were inundated.

Floodwater damaged houses and a portion of Tajazai-Lakki section of Bannu-Mianwali Road near the Lakki city.

Roads were also submerged in rural localities, adding to the troubles of transporters and local population.

Flash floods in Chunai watercourse also damaged a bridge and a portion of Mela Mandrakhel Zangikhel Road. The road links dozens of villages with the Lakki city.

In the Dall Mills area, people, especially women and children, were trapped when flash floods entered their houses.

The traffic between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab through the Lakki-Darra Tang Road passing through Lakki city remained suspended as the main artery was submerged in floodwater.

The calamity prompted the district administration and Rescue 1122 to mobilise their staffers to rescue the trapped people and open the inundated roads for traffic.

A rescue official said the rescuers recovered two bodies in the Dall Mills area and shifted them to the Government City Hospital.

He identified the deceased as Abrar, 13, and Qadeer, 12, saying Abrar died when wall of a basement fell on him after it was submerged in floodwater. He said Qadeer was washed away by floods and his body was recovered after hectic efforts.

A teenage boy, Anwar Raza, was also swept away by flash floods in Zangikhel village. The downpour also caused suspension of power supply to Lakki city and rural areas.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2023