PESHAWAR: Eleven people were killed and one was injured while scores of houses collapsed due to heavy rain in tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday as widespread downpour continued in the region.

Torrential rains also triggered landslides in parts of Malakand division while snowfall has been reported from mountainous areas of the province.

Reports said that a rain-related incident claimed seven lives in North Waziristan Agency when a house collapsed in Datakhel area. Five children and two women died in the incident.

Two houses collapsed in Tangi tehsil of Charsadda district which killed three persons, including a child, while one woman received injuries. The deceased have been identified as Rashid Gul, his wife Zahida and nephew Umair. In another incident, wife of Dost Mohammad suffered injuries when roof of their house caved in.

One minor was killed in Battagram district as heavy rain partially damaged several houses. The heavy rain caused landslides in the area that blocked several link roads. Koat Gala area has been cut off from rest of the district due to landslides. Deputy commissioner Fazal Rehman Khan said that officials of the line departments had been asked to send machinery to remove earth and boulders from the roads.

The ongoing rains have caused substantial damage to the public and private properties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said in a statement that 15 people had been killed in rain-related incidents from March 11 to 18. It said that 19 injuries had been reported from different parts of the province while rains also caused damage to 95 houses.

Heavy rains continued in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday and the Met office in Peshawar had forecast more rains during the next 24 hours.

Upper parts of Malakand and Hazara divisions received heavy rains and the Met’s observatories recorded 22mm rain in Timergara, 25mm in Upper Dir and 23mm in Abbottabad. Peshawar also received 2mm rain.

Shangla district also received heavy rain as the Karakoram Highway passing through the area remained closed due to landslides at 50 different locations. Reports said that rains caused partial damage to residential compounds in Koz Kana, Opal, Damorai, Pir Khana and other areas. Snowfall also continued in upper parts of Speen Ghar, Kapar Banda and Gamtal.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2016