4 killed in rain-related incidents in KP

PESHAWAR: Four people were killed and three others sustained injuries in rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.

A boy and his sister died and three others were injured in a wall collapse incident in the Kanda Sirajkhel area in Takht-i-Nusrati tehsil. The children were going home when the wall collapsed during heavy rain.

The personnel of Rescue 1122 and local people retrieved the children from the debris of the wall. The dead boy and his sister were identified as Sudain, 10, and Eman,8. Torrential rains killed two tourists and damaged houses, bridges and roads in Upper Dir.

The two tourists were killed when their car plunged into the Kohistan River at Biyar. They were identified as Salman, son of Shahid, a resident of Peshawar and Sahib, son of Bakht Munir, a resident of Shaikh Maltoon Town in Mardan.

Floodwater washed away their car. The bodies of the two were retrieved from the river in Sheringal, a town situated several kilometres down the river. The bodies were sent to their native areas after they were identified.

The heavy rains that lashed parts of the district, including Dir town, also caused serious problems for people who thronged for Eid shopping. Floodwaters damaged two houses, one each in Tapandi and Gandigar. Rains also flooded roads and markets, creating problems for commuters and Eid shoppers.

In Dir, the district headquarters, rainwater flooded the main road and main bazaar. Assistant Director Local Government and Tehsil Municipal Administrator Dir Badshahzada supervised the operation to clear roads and blocked drains with staff of municipal administration and with the help of machinery.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in a communique said that two children were killed and another two injured in a wall collapse incident in Karak. The recent rains caused flash floods in Upper Dir, where two people were killed. The rains also caused damage to houses in Peshawar, Karak, Upper Dir and Shangla.

The PDMA said that it had directed the district administration concerned to carry out relief activities in the affected areas. The press release said that the PDMA had predicted rains and issued a warning about the possible damage to the properties. It said the authorities concerned had been directed to take precautionary measures in order to avert any eventuality of the damage.

The PDMA’s control room is operative round-the-clock and it could be contacted at the helpline 1700. The upper parts of Hazara received a heavy downpour, bringing a pleasant change to the hot weather.

The rain, which started at noon in Mansehra, Balakot, Torghar, Oghi and the rest of the division continued intermittently till 4pm.The roads and streets in Mansehra city and its suburbs were flooded with rainwater. The water also entered into some houses, causing financial losses.According to Rescue 1122, no loss of life and property was reported anywhere in the district.