PESHAWAR: Two people were killed and 10 others were injured when torrential rain lashed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, causing flash floods in several districts of the province.

Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) confirmed two deaths and five injuries. A person was killed in a roof collapse incident in Lower Dir while another in Dera Ismail Khan.

Besides, three people were injured in Khyber tribal district while two others in Dera Ismail Khan. In addition to this, five people were injured in roof collapse incidents in Lakki Marwat.

PDMA said that 15 houses were completely destroyed while 35 others partially destroyed in different parts of the province due to the rain and flood.

In Dera Ismail Khan, flash flood hit the villages of Jhok Massu, Jhok Tilkan and Chandna Gharbi near Indus Highway due to breaking of drain in Rumak area of Prova tehsil.

Flash floods destroy 15 houses, bridges, irrigation channels and crops

Rescue 1122 media coordinator Aizaz Mehmood said that people trapped in the areas affected by rain and flood in Parwa and Paharpur tehsils were being evacuated through boats.

He said that women and children were shifted to safer places through boats in Chandna while the rescue operation was under way in Paharpur tehsil.

He said that flood water entered houses in Kiri Khaisur tehsil and its adjoining areas. In Paharpur and Prova, dozens of houses have been destroyed by flash flood.

The district administration said that the water was heading towards Kacha area that could affect the villages of Samukhe Wali and Basti Shaikhan Wali. There were reports of flood entering Chashma Sugar Mills-II on Indus Highway.

Dera Ismail Khan Deputy Commissioner Nasrullah Khan visited the flood-affected areas and reviewed the relief operation. The administration said that several affected people were safely shifted to the tent village set up nearby. Other tent villages would also be set up as per the need.

On the other hand, the communication and electricity system in Dera city and its suburbs has been disrupted due to heavy rain and flood. Due to the poor drainage system in Dera city, rain water accumulated in the markets and streets.

People faced severe problems and suffered huge losses as water entered their houses and shops. They demanded of the administration to declare emergency in the affected areas.

In Lower Dir, a boy identified as Fawad, son of Salehur Rehman, was killed when roof of his house collapsed due to heavy rain in Zaim Asbanr area in Adenzai.

It began to rain heavily in parts of the district early on Sunday due to which several link roads in the hilly areas were blocked. The main Timergara-Peshawar road remained blocked for several hours due to flood in the Talash stream.

Flash flood triggered by the monsoon rains in the far off Kandia tehsil of Upper Kohistan destroyed houses and standing crops in the area.

“The continuous rain and flash flood have destroyed many houses and standing crops. The small hydropower generators installed on streams to supply electricity to local communities have been swept away,” Abdul Hafeez, a resident of the area, told reporters on Sunday.

The rain, which started some three days ago, has still been lashing Hazara division. The rain caused land and mudslides that blocked roads and inundated houses in remote parts of Hazara division.

Kandia valley was affected badly by continuous rain and landslides as many houses were inundated but no loss of life was reported anywhere in the entire tehsil.

“Thanks to Allah there is no loss of life anywhere in the entire tehsil but people have suffered financial losses as their houses have been destroyed and roads leading to rest of Kohistan have been blocked because of the land and mudslides,” said Mr Hafeez.

He said that Kandia tehsil, having a scattered population, was prone to natural calamities as monsoon rains always caused losses to locals. “The district administration should launch rescue and relief activities in the tehsil so that the affected people could be shifted to other areas,” he added.

The link roads in Dubair and Ranowalia in Lower Kohistan were also blocked to traffic following landslides. “If the blocked roads are not reopened timely, the affected areas could be faced with shortage of food items,” said Mohammad Hussain, another local.

In Lakki Marwat, five persons including two women were wounded in roof collapse incidents due to heavy downpour.

An official said that roof of a house collapsed in Kotka Zafran village of Naurang town, causing injuries to four people including two women and two children. He said that a rescue team rushed to the locality, retrieved the wounded people from the debris and shifted them to tehsil headquarters hospital.

Separately, Shoaib, 28, was injured in a roof collapse incident in Saeedkhel locality of Lakki city. The injured man was taken to Government City Hospital.

Flash flood also hit Booni Gol area of Upper Chitral, destroying three pedestrian bridges and damaging 14 irrigation channels and four drinking water supply schemes.

Flash flood in remote Terich Gol also partially damaged Terich road and a mini hydropower station.

In Lower Chitral, Shishikoh, Gobore, Denin and Bumburet streams also witnessed flooding, partially blocking Chitral-Dir and Chitral-Garam Chashma, Ayun-Bumburet and Shishikoh-Madaklaht roads. Crops over 50 acres was destroyed in Bakarabad area of Lower Chitral due to the flash flood.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022