Bureau Report
PESHAWAR: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Sunday at least 27 people died in various rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported ARY News.
It said the people who died in roof collapses and electrocution included three women, nineteen children and one man.
Providing a breakdown, the PDMA said two deaths were reported in Peshawar, seven in Mardan, three in Swabi, four in Swat, one in Buner, and two each in Charsada, Nowshera and Khyber districts.
The PDMA said a total of 127 houses were damaged in the recent rains across the province, Of the total, 114 houses were partially damaged while 13 completely damaged, it added. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and other parts of the country received widespread rainfall with wind and thunderstorm in a recent spell across the country.
Met Office forecast more rain with a thunderstorm in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, upper Punjab, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next 12 hours.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Sunday declared week-long Extreme Weather Emergency as torrential rains wreak havoc across the province. At least 17 people have been killed and 38 injured in rain-related incidents across K-P. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in its report issued on Saturday said at least 57 houses have been caved and majority of deaths have been caused due to house-collapse incidents.
In order to provide shelter and food to the citizens during the cold wave, expected to continue for the next seven days, the provincial government invoked power under Section 16(A)(i) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Act 2010 to declare weather emergency from March 7 to 14.
During the emergency, the deputy commissioners have been instructed to reactivate temporary Panagah i.e. shelter homes in areas hit by torrential rains, heavy snow and a drop in temperature. Those at the shelter homes will be provided breakfast and dinner, while those who lost their houses will be given cooked food three times a day. The government has authorised “Rs100 for each breakfast and Rs200 for dinner” as fit charge of the “Relief Account with the deputy commissioners”.
The Met Office said on Saturday that widespread rain-wind and thunderstorm (with a few hailstorm) is expected in the provincial capital, Khyber, Charsadda, Mohmand, Nowshera, Swabi Mardan, Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar, Kohistan, Shangla, Swat, Bunner, Malakand, Upper and Lower Dir, Bajaur, Chitral, Kohat, Hangu, Orakzai and Kurram districts while at scattered places in Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, D.I. Khan, Tank and South Waziristan. The Met Office further said intermittent rain-thundershower moderate to high intensity is also expected in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar, Kohistan, Shangla, Swat, Upper Dir, Chitral, Bajaur, Bunner, Peshawar, Nowshera, Charsadda and Mohmand districts. Snowfall may also occur over high mountains in Chitral, Upper Dir, Swat, Kohistan and Mansehra districts, it added.
