PESHAWAR/QUETTA: Heavy rainfall continued in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the third day on Sunday with eight deaths reported from parts of the province and more than a dozen injured, officials said.

Rescuers from the paramilitary for­ces were helping hundreds of survivors stranded in Balochistan which was facing the brunt of flash floods on Sunday.

Four deaths were reported in South Waziristan and two from the Shewa area, adjacent to North Waziristan. Bordering Afghanistan, South Waziristan and North Waziristan tribal districts were earlier part of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and merged with KP province in May 2018.

Two died in Charsadda and Tank districts, said Provincial Disaster Mana­gement Authority (PDMA). Eight were injured, added the PDMA statement to the press. The incessant rain also damaged 31 houses in the province stated the PDMA.

Rain and snow-related landslides were reported in the mountainous regions of Hazara and Malakand. Rescue and relief operations by the local administration and paramilitary forces continued in flood-hit Balochistan where one more death was reported. Fateh Mohammad was killed in Ahmedwal, Nushki, when an electric wire fell on his house because of heavy rains. His 25 goats also perished with him.

But the situation of several hundreds of flood survivors was dreadful who were left stranded and had to be rescued by army and local administration officials. According to an ISPR press release, 1,500 families were rescued from Dureji in Lasbela and Qila Abdullah district.

The rescuing of the families happened with the help of army helicopters, according to officials. Relief camps have also been set up in Makran, Lasbela and other parts of northern Balochistan. Rations supplies and essential items had also been provided to 3,500 families in flood-hit areas, said an ISPR statement. “Pakistan Army doctors and paramedical personnel were also providing medical assistance,” said ISPR.

A bus carrying 45 pilgrims from Punjab was also caught up in flash floods. The bus was heading towards Shah Noorani shrine in Khuzdar district but the road leading to the shrine had been washed away. Security officials and local administration were called in to rescue the pilgrims.

“After four hours they were rescued. They are safe and sound and have been shifted to a safe place,” said Deputy Commissioner Lasbela Shabbir Ahmed Mengal.

Flash flooding was reported in villages of Nushki district. The floodwaters carried by the seasonal river stream Bor Nallah rushed into villages Nasirabad, Annam Bostan and Killi Sultan forcing the residents to abandon their homes. Security forces and local administration were reported to have started rescue operation in the affected villages.

Rivers Kech and Nihing were heavily flooded and a bridge over River Kech was closed for traffic, said officials. Also, in Kech small dams were washed away and security forces were busy rescuing hundreds of stranded survivors.

Irrigation officials put out a warning that the water level of Mirani Dam had reached dangerous levels with the entering of floodwaters in its reservoir.

—Behram Baloch in Gwadar also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2019