PESHAWAR: Six more persons including five children were killed as rain continued to lash different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for third consecutive day on Sunday.

With the killing of six more persons, the death toll in rain-related incidents reached eight in the province.

On Sunday, five children and a woman were killed in rain-related incidents in Swat and Upper Dir districts, according to officials of Rescue 1122. The continuous rain also damaged three houses fully and 13 other partially in different areas of the province.

Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has announced financial assistance for the families affected by the recent torrential rain and landslide in different parts of the province.

He said that provincial government would stand by the affected families and would not leave them alone, according to a statement issued here. He said that government would provide all possible assistance to the affected families.

Rescue 1122 officials say three houses were damaged fully and 13 partially

Mr Gandapur directed relief department to submit a detailed report about the losses of lives and properties besides providing best possible medical assistance to the needy ones. He also ordered rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructure immediately.

In Swat, three persons were killed and one was critically injured when their houses caved in due to landslide and consistent rainfall.

According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson, six-year-old Ashfaq was buried under the debris of his house due to landslide in Miyadam area of Khwazakhela tehsil on Saturday evening. Rescue 1122 personnel rushed to the scene and retrieved the body of the child from the debris and handed it over to his family.

Similarly, three people were buried under the debris of Umar Raziq’s house due to landslide in Pashtunai area of Gwalerai on Sunday. Rescuers immediately reached the spot as soon as control room received the information.

They pulled out all the people from the wreckage in the night and shifted them to hospital. However, 12-year-old Majidullah and 15-year-old Ismatullah succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.

According to district administration, several incidents of landslide occurred on Bahrain-Kalam road, but Upper Swat Development Authority cleared the road with the help of heavy machinery.

In Lower Dir, two minor girls and a woman were killed in rain-related incidents in the small hours of Sunday, locals and Rescue 1122 officials said.

They said that two minor girls were killed and two other children received injuries when the roof of their room collapsed in Badalai area of Nehag Dara on Sunday. They said that locals and Rescue 1122 emergency team rushed to the spot and retrieved the bodies and injured from the debris of the house.

The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital.

Similarly, a woman identified as daughter of Anwar Khan was killed when wall of a house collapsed in Shafankay village of Gumbat Banda in the wee hours of Sunday. The house is owned by Samiullah.

According to police, the deceased woman was staying in the house as a guest when its wall fell upon her. She died on the spot.

The house of Liaquat Khan also collapsed because of heavy rain in Darmal Bala village of Balambat. The inmates, according to official sources, remained unhurt.

Rain continued for the third consecutive day in parts of Lower and Upper Dir districts on Sunday. Several link roads remained blocked due to landslide. The Munda tehsil municipal administration staff cleared a road leading to Mian Kallay with the help of tractors.

Flooded streams in Talash and other parts of the district also disrupted flow of vehicular traffic. The hilltops in Upper Dir and Binshahi in Lower Dir, according to locals, also received snowfall.

The administration has asked motorists to avoid unnecessary travel to upper parts of the district and use snow chains while travelling to hilly areas of Lowari Top and Shahi Top.

In Charsadda, flood in the Khyali River caused loss of millions of rupees to local landowners and famers as their standing crops were washed away.

The district administration officials and locals said that about 15 villages were affected by flood in the river. The people of the nearby villages on the bank of the river feared that flood could wash away their houses and properties.

They demanded of district administration and Provincial Disaster Management Authority to take prompt measures to save them from flood.

In Shangla, a house collapsed while Bisham-Swat road remained closed at multiple places due to landslide.

The house of Arshad Khan in Batkot area of Bisham tehsil collapsed due to landslide on Sunday. The inmates remained unhurt.

The residents of the area took part in the rescue work and moved the members of affected family to safer place. Their goods were also shifted to a nearby house.

Bisham-Swat road was also blocked at Bely Baba, Shangla Top, Alpuri, Machar and Yakhtangay due to landslide. Passengers remained stranded on both sides of the main road.

The district administration on Sunday also issued an emergency alert by cancelling holidays of revenue and health department staff.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2024