5 die in rain, floods in KP Islamabad, Pindi also hit by rains; 1 die in Jhelum as roof caves in

PESHAWAR: At least five persons were killed as rain and floods wreaked havoc in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday. 

Several houses and a hotel collapsed due to heavy rain in the provincial capital. 

One Abbas Ali was killed when the roof of a house collapsed in Mian Killay. Flash flood washed away a five year-old-child Sudais in Attaki village in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda district.

Several houses and crops were destroyed in Shabqadar. Traders also suffered heavy losses when rainwater inundated the Shabqadar Bazaar. Trader leaders’ Rahim Shah and others blamed civic bodies for the losses. They said improper sanitation system in the bazaar had caused the damage. 

The spokesperson for Rescue 1122 service Bilal Ahmad Faizi said the service rescued over 500 individuals and shifted them to safer places in boats. 

The official said around 40 employees of the service took part in the rescue work. He said special rescue teams were sent from Peshawar and called from Mardan to help the people in the affected areas. 

Bilal Ahmad Faizi said the rescuers helped the affectees in Shabqadar Bazaar, Katozai Road, FC Colony, Matta Mughalkhel and other affected areas. 

He said four heavy de-watering pumps were used to pump out the water from affected areas. 

In Bannu, the tractor of one Maulana Saeed fell into a ravine when the flood washed away a bridge in Bakakhel, leaving Saeed dead.

A four-year-old child Saima died when the boundary wall of a house collapsed in Kalakhel Masti Khan. 

The torrential rain also damaged a state-run primary school and several houses across the district. 

A heavy stone detached from its place due to torrential rain and hit a mud-house at Dherai near Lilownai village in Alpuri tehsil of Shangla district, killing one child. 

In Chitral, Laspur area and Shandur road remained blocked for traffic at Shahidas Nulla. 

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) issued an alert about possible glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in Chitral. 

It said the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Islamabad, had informed the authority that due to persistent heat wave conditions in Chitral, the temperature is likely to increase by more than five degrees centigrade from normal, which may continue for three to four days. 

As a result, the melting rate of glaciers will increase and it is expected that the valley will receive heavy localised downpours triggering GLOFs in Chitral.

The PDMA directed all the departments concerned to put the population living along the waterways, vulnerable locations on a high alert to avoid any loss of human lives. 

All line departments must be on high alert to response to any emergency situation, it added.

Sabah adds: Heavy rain with strong winds continued in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujarat, Hafizabad and some other cities. 

The rains prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency in Rawalpindi.

A 20-year-old woman was killed and four others were injured as a result of house collapse due to rain in Ghazi Colony, Dhoke Wahab Din in Jhelum.

In Badin Sindh rainwater remains collected inside more than 100 school buildings.

Meteorological Department of Pakistan has predicted more rain and thunderstorm (with isolated heavyfalls) at scattered places in Kashmir, upper Punjab (Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sargodha, Faisalabad divisions) and Islamabad during the next 24 hours.