—– In Mansehra, Chitral, five people die due to rain and flooding
—– Children drown in Lahore’s Babu Sabu and Misri Shah areas
—– 9 killed in rain-related incidents in KP
—– 4 killed in landslide in GB’s Skardu
—– Relief efforts under way as Balochistan also sees rainfall
Peshawar: The recent rains and floods in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have claimed around 15 lives across the different districts in the provinc-es within 48 hours.
At least three people, according to rescue sources, were reported to have died as a result of incidents involving electrocution in Pakpattan on Sunday.
Two men, Waqas and Ramzan, residents of Purani Sabzi Mandi and Arifawala, were dead after being electrocuted while bathing, while another inci-dent took the life of a two-year-old baby, Ayesha, who died on the spot after touching an electric wire in the Sikandar Chowk area.
Havoc in KP
In KP’s Mansehra and Chitral districts, five people were killed, and over a dozen were injured. On the other hand, houses and roads were washed away after rain-triggered devastation in the districts.
Hafeezur Rehman, the head of Rescue 1122 in Mansehra, told journalists about the loss of lives due to the rain-triggered flooding in the district.
“Five people have been killed and over a dozen injured and houses collapsed. And many arteries have been blocked in the district. Our teams are ac-tive all around as the fresh rain spell triggered large-scale devastation,” he said.
Heavy rain in Mansehra, which began late Friday night, continued intermittently the entire next day and destroyed several houses and blocked roads. The house of an Afghan national, Samiullah, collapsed on the Chinar Road in the district’s Thakra area, burying six members of his family under the rubble who were shifted to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital by Rescue 1122 officials. The doctors, however, pronounced Samiullah’s wife and son dead, while the rest were hospitalised.
Ajwa Bibi, 12, and her younger brother Mohammad Umar were buried alive when their house collapsed in the Dehri area of Shinkiari. The locals and Rescue 1122 officials shifted them to the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital after retrieving them from the rubble, where doctors pronounced Ajwa Bibi dead.
The family members of Mohammad Qadeer were also buried alive under the debris when their house collapsed in the Lohar Banda area in the heart of Mansehra city. The locals shifted them to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, where a doctor pronounced Mohammad Hussain, 9, dead while four members of his family were hospitalised.
The rescuers also fished out a body of an unknown man who had drowned in a stream following rains in the Chitta Batta area.
Two pickup vehicles were also washed away in the flood waters in the Dugai stream in Mansehra’s Oghi. According to eyewitnesses, hundreds of passengers travelling between Oghi and the neighbouring Torghar district were stuck on both sides of the road after an incomplete bridge washed away in last year’s flood.
The houses also collapsed in Safada and other areas in the district. The roads were also blocked in Safada village, Siran Valley, Konsh Valley and Kaghan Valley owing to the land and mudslides. The rain, which also hit Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan, Kolai-Palas and Torghar districts, continued intermittently the entire next day, but no fatality was reported from anywhere.
Chitral affected
The flash floods triggered by torrential rains washed away over half a kilometre of Chitral-Shandur Road, disconnecting the land link between the Lower Chitral and Upper Chitral districts. The floodwater in the Chitral River also submerged Gangoreni Hydel Powerhouse, and the adjacent residen-tial quarters damaged the powerhouse in Chitral City.
The floodwater also hit the historic Shahi Qilla and the hotel located in the central part of Chitral and washed away three trees. Similarly, two houses were destroyed while four others were partially damaged in the city’s Ochusht area, while three houses were destroyed in Ayun Town.
Reports pouring in from Kalash and Rambur valleys suggested that four houses and standing crops were destroyed when floodwaters from Rambur Nullah inundated the area.
Chitral Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ali said land communication had been disconnected with Upper Chitral. He added that the district admin-istration had dispatched rescue teams to the affected areas.
Garm Chashma and Dineen Road had been opened, he said, adding the highways of Chitral were flooded, but there was no loss of life had been re-ported.
The meteorological department has also forecasted more heavy rains all across the Hazara division from July 22 to 26.
Women, children killed in Lahore
Meanwhile, two children died while three citizens were injured in rain-related incidents in Lahore on Saturday.
According to details, a 12-year-old boy drowned while bathing in rainwater near Babu Sabu in the limits of Sherakot. A 14-year-old boy drowned in rainwater near Aik Moria Pul, Misri Shah. A citizen was injured when a roof collapsed in the Raiwind area. Three people were injured when a wall collapsed in Shahdara area.
In Malakwal, one woman was killed, and another was injured after the roof of a house collapsed due to rain in Dhol Ranjha on Saturday.
According to rescue 1122 sources, due to heavy rain, the roof of a house collapsed in Dhol Ranjha village. In this incident, two women — 45-year-old Haleema Bibi and 50-year-old Seema Bibi — were buried under the rubble.
The Rescue 1122 team pulled them from the rubble, but Haleema breathed her last due to critical injuries. At the same time, Seema was seriously in-jured and shifted to the hospital for treatment.
Earlier, At least nine people were killed in rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the last 24 hours due to heavy rainfall while an emer-gency was declared in the province’s Lower and Upper Chitral districts till August 15.
Heavy rain with strong winds and thunderstorms lashed parts of the province on Saturday, triggering landslides and destroying infrastructure.
The rain continued intermittently through the day, resulting in a “large-scale devastation” in the district. The deluge also triggered flash floods in Chitral, which washed away bridges, roads, and livestock.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, several areas of the country are likely to continue to receive rain until July 26.
The latest report issued by KP’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said nine people had died over the last 24 hours, including two in Swat, two in Battagram, four in Mansehra and one in Buner.
The report further said that seven people had been injured, including three in Swat, three in Battagram and one in Mansehra.
The PDMA said nine houses had been fully damaged while 67 were partially damaged.
Separately, a notification issued by the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department said that the deputy commissioners of both districts had re-quested for an “emergency” to be declared in order to enable them to “launch immediate rescue and relief activities”.
Therefore, the provincial government declared a rain emergency in the two districts with immediate effect, adding that it would remain in place till August 15 “for provision of relief [and] restoration of damaged communication network and water supply”.
Meanwhile, KP Interim Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan directed the relief department and the district administration to remain on “high alert”.
He directed authorities to immediately launch relief and rescue activities and to ensure that aid was provided to the affectees.
The chief minister also ordered for the affected people to be moved to safer locations and asserted that the provincial government would help them “in every possible way”.
4 killed in landslide in GB’s Skardu
Separately, four people of the same family lost their lives while one was injured in a landslide in Gilgit Baltistan’s Skardu district, police said.
Skardu Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raja Mirza Hasan said a family hailing from the Astore district was heading to Gilgit from Skardu when the landslide occurred.
He added that as the family fled their car for safety, they got caught in another landslide, which killed three women and a child.
SSP Hasan further said that officials could not reach the affected family immediately as the highway was blocked at four points due to landslides triggered by rainfall.
Rescue teams are trying to reach the site of the incident to recover the injured and the bodies, he added.
Relief efforts under way as Balochistan also sees rainfall
Meanwhile, following rainfall in several areas of Balochistan, the PDMA provided relief items to the people in Basima and Patak areas of the prov-ince’s Washuk district.
Balochistan PDMA Director General (DG) Jahanzeb Khan told that the authority had started relief efforts immediately after receiving directives from Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo and provincial Interior Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove.
He elaborated that the relief items contained food, tents, blankets, utensils and other items of need, adding that all the items were handed over to the deputy commissioner of the affected area.
The PDMA DG further said that the authority’s rescue centre was in “full contact” with the administration of the affected area.
DG Khan asserted that the authorities were assessing the situation in a timely manner and that the PDMA’s staff and machinery were ready if need-ed.
Separately, rainfall in Balochistan’s Kacchi district had also led to “very high” flood waters on the Pinjira Causeway, suspending traffic in both di-rections, National Highway Authority (NHA) General Manager Agha Inayat said.
He further said that NHA machinery was on stand-by along with the staff, and that traffic will be restored once the water level reduces.
He added that “dumping of material” has been started, which will be pushed towards the causeway once the water level recedes. –Agencies
