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Friday March 29, 2024

KP continues to suffer due to extreme weather conditions

Battered by at least 200 ruthless terrorism incidents during the last 14 years, the historic province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its capital Peshawar have also been devastated by some extreme weather conditions on various occasions, hence paving way for fatal floods, horrible rains and deadly earthquakes to strike these parts

By Sabir Shah
April 28, 2015
Battered by at least 200 ruthless terrorism incidents during the last 14 years, the historic province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its capital Peshawar have also been devastated by some extreme weather conditions on various occasions, hence paving way for fatal floods, horrible rains and deadly earthquakes to strike these parts of Pakistan at regular intervals.
The most recent Peshawar rain had claimed another 30 odd human lives till the filing of this story, besides causing a loss of billions of rupees to public and private property within a span of hours.
During the last 45 years, Peshawar has shown extreme climatic trends, as has been the case with the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Talking of Peshawar alone, a minus 3.9 degrees centigrade temperature was recorded here on January 7, 1970, while on June 18, 1995, merciless mercury had touched the 50 degree centigrade mark in this city.
On April 10, 2009, some 187 mm (7.4 inches) of rain was recorded in Peshawar alone.
On July 29, 2010, a record-breaking 274mm or 10.7 inches of rainfall was again recorded here.
During the whole month of July 2010, Peshawar has received some 333 mm or 13.1 inches of rain.
We can all recall that while the July/August 2010 floods had caused immense damage in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the raging waters had also made one-fifth of Pakistan’s total land area submerge, affecting about 20 million people and killing over 2,000 humans.
It was estimated that the July/August 2010 floods damages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan areas were in excess of $43 billion.
These July/August 2010 floods were described as the worst in the last 80 years.
Not very long ago, towards the end of February 2015, rain and hailstorm had led to at least six deaths in Peshawar and the adjoining Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The roofs and walls of several houses had collapsed in different parts of Peshawar city following a heavy downpour that had continued for around 24 hours.
This February 2015 rain had inundated various low-lying areas of the Peshawar city, causing difficulties to the motorists and pedestrians, besides disrupting the electricity supply to the Saddar, Badaber, Pishtakhara and Kohat Road areas.
Pools of water had accumulated at a number of places including the University Road, Tehkal, Board Bazaar, GT Road, Karimpura, Babu Town, Firdous, Qissa Khwani Bazar and Kohat Road etc.
During August 2014, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak was spending more time at the Imran Khan-led sit-in at Islamabad and featuring prominently on the famous PTI container, over 20 people had perished and nearly 100 had sustained injuries in rain-related incidents in various parts of Peshawar.
Rescuers had faced problems due to choked roads and traffic jams as hailstorms had played havoc with life and properties in numerous Peshawar localities including Akhundabad, Gujjarabad, Wazirbagh and Faqirabad etc.
On February 17, 2013, a 5.5-magnitude earthquake had struck the northern areas of Pakistan, including Fata. The areas where the jolts were felt included Nowshera, Peshawar, Malakand, Shangla, various areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, Lower Dir and Khyber tribal regions. No immediate reports of casualties were received though. The main quake was followed by more than 978 aftershocks until October 27 of the same year.
Kyber Pakhtunkhwa was also adversely affected by
the October 8, 2005 earthquake, which had overall resulted
in a death toll ranging betw-
een 57,000 and 80,000 people, while thousands had lost their homes and hopes due to the disaster.
On February 14, 2004 two earthquakes measuring 5.7 and 5.5 respectively on the Richter scale, had killed 24 people and injured 40 others in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (then NWFP) and the adjoining Northern Areas.
On October 3, 2002, some 17 people were killed and 30 injured in the country’s Northern Areas, after earthquakes measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale had left 1,500 people homeless.
The tremors had lasted for about 37 seconds and had caused extensive damage in the region.
Just 19 days later, another earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale had hit the Astore Valley, killing 23 people. Aftershocks and subsequent landslides had hampered relief operations in the Northern Areas.
On March 20, 1997, an earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale had hit the Salarzai village in the Bajaur tribal region, killing at least 10 people instantly.
On January 16, 1978, an earthquake of moderate intensity had hit Peshawar. The epicenter of the quake lay 300 kilometres north of Peshawar in the Hindukush range. No lives were lost in the quake.
On December 28, 1974, one of the worst earthquakes had hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s area of Pattan.
The areas that were affected by this natural calamity included Hazara, Hunza, Swat and KP.
Measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, the quake had resulted in 5300 deaths, 17,000 humans were injured and over 4,400 houses were destroyed.
On June 30, 1974, an earthquake of severe intensity had chosen the northern areas of Pakistan to strike for about 30 seconds. The epicenter of the earthquake was said to lie in the Hindukush Mountains in Afghanistan. About four children were killed as a result, with damage caused to numerous buildings.
On December 28, 1971, an earthquake of severe intensity was reported in Peshawar and Rawalpindi. However, no loss of lives or property was immediately reported.
October 2, 1971 was the day when Abbottabad and some parts of Hazara were recipients of five moderate tremors. No loss of life was reported.
On September 4, 1971, Abbotabad was jolted six times by moderate tremors, which had caused cracks in the buildings. No loss of life was reported. The epicenter of the quake lay 500 miles northeast of Quetta.