Woman killed, child injured as heavy rain causes flash floods in KP

Heavy rains accompanied by windstorms continued for the second consecutive day in the Malakand and Hazara divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Tuesday, triggering flash floods and landslides, causing damage to properties and vehicles and resulting in the death of a woman, officials said.

“A woman was killed and a child was injured as the roofs of two houses collapsed in the Galyat area of Abottabad district, in Hazara division,” Galyat DSP Jamilur Rehman told Dawn.com.

He said the incident took place at midnight and the injured child had been shifted to a nearby hospital.

Meanwhile, Abottabad district’s Ayub Teaching Hospital was inundated due to heavy rain.

In Shangla district, at least three houses, a hotel, a water mill and four cars were destroyed due to landslides, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Hamidur Rehman said.

“So far, we have received information that a landslide in the Bely Baba area has completely destroyed a hotel, three houses, four cars and a water mill,” he said, adding that he had instructed revenue staff to visit the field and collect further information about losses caused by rains and floods.

The DC said several link roads, including the Bhisham-Swat road, had been blocked for traffic due to landslides and clearance work on the affected roads would be started after the rain stopped.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Shangla chapter president Waqar Ahmed Khan told Dawn.com that landslides and flash floods had caused damage to main roads and links in Alpuri and Kana teshsils, where many houses were partially damaged.

He said KP Culture Minister Shaukat Yousafzai had directed the Shangla DC and National Highway Authority officials to begin clearance of the affected roads.

According to Rescue 1122 spokesperson in Shangla, Rasool Khan, no loss of life was reported due to the bad weather in the district so far. He said rescue efforts in rain-hit areas were under way.

Owing to blocked roads in Shangla and Kohistan, passengers remained stuck in traffic for long.

The flow of water in the Indus River has also increased due to the heavy rains.

On Sunday and Monday, flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed four people, including two minor girls, in KP.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has declared Charssada, Dera Ismail Khan, Shangla, Upper Dir, Nowshera, Swat and Upper and Lower Chitral as high-risk districts during the ongoing monsoon spell.

In a press release issued on Monday, the PDMA said its monsoon contingency plan, developed in consultation with district administrations, provincial and federal authorities and development partners, was meant to ensure timely response to the calamity and minimise hazards, vulnerabilities and risks.