Four injured as windstorm hits Peshawar

PESHAWAR: At least four people were injured in different incidents due to windstorm in the provincial capital on Wednesday.

A number of billboards, walls and trees collapsed due to powerful windstorm that hit the city on Wednesday afternoon. After the storm, power supply remained suspended in Peshawar for a long time.

According to the officials of the Rescue 1122, a number of wall collapse incidents were reported from different parts of the city, where ambulances were seen taking the injured to hospitals. The officials said at least three people were reported injured on Ring Road and Warsak Road. The injured included a woman and a five-year-old girl.

Some unconfirmed reports said a woman died in a roof collapse incident at Pishtakhara village near the provincial capital. However, the Rescue 1122 officials said there was no confirmation of the incident.

Meanwhile, the light drizzle in the afternoon turned the weather pleasant as the temperature dipped to 36 degree centigrade. Though the weather remained partially cloudy from the morning, the drizzle made it more pleasant. The gusty winds caused hardships to the dwellers as the atmosphere in the city is already dusty because of the work on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. The brief spell of rain brought down the rising temperature. However, the Met Office forecast there were chances of more rain in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the Met Office, a shallow westerly wave is affecting upper parts of the country and is likely to persist during the current week. Rain-thunderstorm with gusty winds is expected at isolated places in Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan divisions and Fata. Kalam received 12 millimeter rain, Bannu 11, Mirkhani and Chitral 9, Drosh 8, Pattan 5 and Lower Dir 2.