Torrential rains, flash floods kill 33 in KP, Punjab
Pakistan, June 29 — Torrential rains, flash floods, strong winds and landslides have so far claimed at least 19 lives and left six injured across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 48 hours, according to a preliminary report issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Saturday.
The report details a grim picture of destruction caused by extreme weather events across several districts, including Swat, Abbottabad, Charsadda, Malakand, Shangla, Lower Dir, and Torghar.
Among the deceased are six men, five women, and eight children, while the injured include three men and three women.
Swat emerged as the worst-hit district, accounting for 13 deaths and all reported injuries.
The PDMA noted that at least 56 homes sustained damage including 50 partially and six completely destroyed as a result of the natural calamities.
In response, PDMA had directed local administrations to immediately provide relief to affected families and ensure the best possible medical care for the injured. The authority had also warned that the spell of rain was expected to continue until July 1.
A PDMA spokesperson confirmed that early warning advisories had already been sent to district administrations to stay alert and take precautionary measures.
It said that the PDMA’s Emergency Operations Center remains was fully active and coordinating round-the-clock with district authorities and relief agencies and urged citizens to stay cautious and report any emergencies by calling PDMA’s helpline at 1700.
Moreover, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to launch a major operation against illegal structures built along and within the Swat River following the tragic incident in which 11 people from a Sialkot family lost their lives.
The search is still on for two individuals, while four were rescued. KP Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, in a statement, said that a complete ban has been imposed on all forms of mining activities along riverbeds. He also announced that a coordinated crackdown would begin on all encroachments, including hotels illegally constructed on or near riverbanks.
Separately, the KP government also suspended Swat Deputy Commissioner Shahzad Mehboob and appointed Saleem Khan in his place.
In Punjab, at least two more people died in a rain-related incident on Saturday, taking the province’s death toll for the past four days to 14, according to rescue officials and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
Two people died while four were wounded in a roof collapse incident reported at 3:20am in the Abbas Nagar area of Lahore’s Shahdara Town, Rescue 1122 said in a statement.
It noted that the house was single-storied and the roof was made of mud. The bodies were taken to Shahdara Hospital, where some of the injured were also taken, while others wounded were brought to Mayo Hospital.
Separately, eight children were among 12 dead while 39 others were injured in various rain-related incidents across Punjab since Wednesday, according to a PDMA report issued.
In Kasur, two children died from a roof collapsing while another two lost their lives in a wall collapse incident. One child each died in roof collapse incidents in Okara, Bahawalnagar and Faisalabad.
In Wazirabad, a wall collapsing killed a man and a child, along with injuring a woman and another minor.
In Jhelum, the PDMA report said, two men “drowned in a rainwater nullah”. A recent report detailed that a loader rickshaw fell into a storm drain on an inundated road.
The PDMA report also mentioned a lightning incident in Khanewal that took the life of a man.
Other districts where casualties were reported were Mandi Bahauddin, Sahiwal, Chiniot, Multan, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib. Separately, a cow perished in Rahim Yar Khan after a tree fell due to a windstorm.
