SWABI/BAJAUR/HARIPUR: Four people, including two women, were seriously injured and 50 electricity poles were uprooted when a windstorm hit the Swabi district late on Monday night.

Over a two dozen boundary walls of houses in different areas collapsed. The rainstorm continued for over an hour.

Two women were injured when walls collapsed in Kotha and Yar Hussain areas. Similarly, one person each was injured in Topi and Zaida when the entrance gates of their houses collapsed. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals.

The windstorm also disrupted power supply.

When contacted, a Peshawar Electric Supply Company official told Dawn that a total of 50 electricity poles fell across the district. He said restoring power supply would take time. Solar panels on rooftops were also damaged in the windstorm in Shahmansoor and other areas.

Transformer of a cell phone company fell due to storm in Topi city. Huge signboards on Topi-Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate Road were also blown away as countless number of trees were uprooted, causing traffic jams on roads.

The storm also badly damaged the standing maize and sugarcane crops and vegetables.

In Bajaur, heavy rain coupled with hailstorm badly damaged maize, tomato and other vegetable crops in several localities on Monday night.

Local people told Dawn on Tuesday that the overnight heavy rain accompanied with hailstorm started at about 8pm and continued till 9.30pm, damaging standing crops.

“The calamity damaged maize and vegetable crops in most areas of Khar tehsil,” said Ismail Khan, a local resident.

The people of Sadiqabad, Rahmanabad, Serai, Lashora and several other localities of Khar also complained about extensive damage to their standing crops. They demanded of the government to extend financial help to them.

Meanwhile, the district administration and local officials of the agriculture department said the calamity had extensively damaged maize and other crops in the Khar tehsil.

In Haripur, strong winds uprooted electricity poles in rural parts of the district on Monday night, disrupting power supply.

Power suspension lasted for over 12 hours in the areas connected to over 12 feeders.

The Pesco restored electric supply to some feeders by Tuesday afternoon. The power supply company said that its field workers were busy re-installing electric poles and repairing transmission lines.

The local residents said that strong winds damaged boundary walls of mud houses, sheds and standing crops.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2023