15 killed as rain, windstorms wreak havoc in parts of country

RAWALPINDI/PESHAWAR: Massive rain and windstorms on Wednesday evening hit Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore and some other parts of the country, killing at least 15 persons as walls and roofs collapsed while billboards and trees were uprooted. As many as 75 persons were also injured in the windstorm.

Electricity vanished in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after some pylons fell due to the storm. The Metro bus station’s roof at the 6th Road, Rawalpindi, collapsed and the bus service was suspended. The flight operation at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad was also suspended due to the windstorm.

According to the Met Office, the wind was blowing in Rawalpindi at 148 kilometres per hour and in Islamabad it was 120 km/hr.A woman and her two daughters died in Margalla Town, a madrassa student lost his life in Sector F-7 and a man was killed in Bhara Kahu due to the windstorm in Islamabad.

In the Dhoke Hassu area, Rawalpindi, Kanwal, 20, and her 18-year-old brother Majid died in a wall collapse while their mother Sultana received injuries. In the Banni area, Azhar Mahmood lost his life.

Also, at least seven persons were killed and over 40 others wounded when a windstorm and rain hit parts of KP and tribal areas on Wednesday.The powerful thunderstorm followed by heavy rain hit the provincial capital and nearby towns at around 6:30pm. Several walls and roofs collapsed while trees fell due to the heavy rain and storm.

Sidra, a young woman, and her six-month baby Ahmad, died in rain-related incidents in the Musazai village. Two members of the family, Ambreen and Nosheen, were wounded and shifted to hospital.

An emergency was declared in all the city hospitals while ambulances of Rescue 1122 were moved to rush the wounded for treatment.

“A mother and her child were killed in Musazai, Peshawar, while two others in the family sustained injuries when the roof of their house caved in. Another person was killed in Nowshera while one died in Charsadda,” Bilal Ahmad Faizi, the spokesman for Rescue 1122, told The News.

He added that as many as 23 persons sustained injuries in various rain and storm-related incidents in Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera.

A woman was killed and three others wounded in rain-related incidents in Jamrud Tehsil while a man died in the Bara Tehsil of the Khyber Agency. One person reportedly died in Kohat. Unconfirmed reports said a child reportedly died on the Kohat Road. A large number of hoardings and trees also fell to the ground due to the powerful storm.

In Nowshera, one person was killed and several others injured in house collapse incidents. A man identified as Ihsan Ali was killed when a tree fell on him in Misri Banda. The Grand Trunk Road was closed for traffic after signboards, trees and electricity poles were uprooted which blocked the road. 

The sources said that boundary walls of several houses in Nowshera Kalan, Risalpur and Mera Jalozai collapsed, leaving several persons injured. Scores of injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital and other hospitals in the district. There were reports of damage to the crops in different areas of Pabbi tehsil of Nowshera district. 

Hailstorm severely damaged the standing crops and fruit orchards spreading on large swathes of land in South Waziristan.  According to local sources, the hailstorm broke a 30-year-old record. It also uprooted the solar systems the tribesmen had installed to generate power to run the tube-wells. According to the reports received from various parts of the tribal region, the most affected areas were Karikot, Landi Doog, Waja Ghundai, Sherna, Sekach, Tala Bani, Laman, Dubkot, Tanai, Warsak, Wacha Khwar and Greendana. One person identified as Bakht Jan was killed in a wall collapse incident in Sadda, Kurram Agency.