24 killed in rain-related incidents in KP: PDMA

PESHAWAR/ MANSEHRA: At least 24 people were killed and 17 others injured in recent rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Thursday.

The dead included six men, six women and 12 children, said a spokesman for the PDMA, adding a total of 150 houses were damaged due to flood and rain.

The most affected districts, according to PDMA, included Upper Chitral, Kohat, Bajaur, Lower Dir, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Haripur, Swat, Charsadda, Swabi, Mohmand, South Waziristan and Hangu.

The spokesman said that relief operations were in full swing in the affected areas and machinery were being used to open the closed roads while relief items were also being distributed among the flood affectees. He asked the people to avoid traveling to tourist spots till the weather conditions returned to normal.

The PDMA’s Emergency Operation Centre is fully operational and the public and tourists can contact 1700 for any help or information,” the spokesman went on to add.

Meanwhile, flashfloods washed away three shops and a mosque built in the Manor stream in the Mahandri area in Kaghan valley.

The same torrent also swept away mega pipes and other materials brought in for the rehabilitation of the central bridge washed away in the Mahandri area earlier this week. According to officials, it would take even a week for erection owing to rough weather and more floods.

The officials of the district administration and National Highway Authority and workers, present there along with machines for rehabilitation of the bridge, managed to escape as the torrent swelled in Manor stream and inundated Mahandri Bazaar and the rest of Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road.

The officials of Balakot tehsil administration have decided to ensure the evacuation of around 3000 tourists still stranded in Naran, the commercial hub of the Kaghan valley, via Chilas.

Also, the families affected by the recent flashfloods in Manor valley staged a protest against the delay in the rehabilitation of the central bridge that was washed away.