DI KHAN/PESHAWAR:
At least 12 people were killed and dozens sustained injuries as a fresh spell of monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides in northern Pakistan on Sunday, raising the death toll to over 460 in less than two weeks.
Fresh casualties were reported from different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), which remained the hardest-hit during the ongoing monsoon spell.
Heavy storms and torrential rains wreaked havoc in Dera Ismail Khan, leaving nine people dead — including women and children — and injuring more than 50.
Three children were also killed when the roof of their home collapsed in remote Dir district, which sits near the Afghanistan border, the rescue officials said.
Property damage was reported on a large scale, while the power supply system collapsed.
Strong winds reaching 100 km/h, accompanied by downpours, lashed DI Khan overnight. Several house walls and roofs collapsed, trees were uprooted, and solar panels fixed on rooftops were destroyed. Electric poles fell and feeders tripped, plunging the district into darkness.
As per updates from the district administration, among the dead, five belonged to Tehsil Dera and three to Tehsil Paharpur. Of the injured, 41 were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital and six to Mufti Mehmood Hospital, where three patients are said to be in critical condition.
Eighteen remain under treatment, while 26 were discharged after receiving first aid. Fortunately, no casualties were reported from Tehsils Kulachi, Paroa, Daraban, and Darazinda.
Tragic incidents included a collapse of a solar plant on Grid Road, killing three people and injuring two; a roof collapse in village Lar on Chashma Road that killed a mother and son; and another in Zafarabad Colony that claimed the lives of Muhammad Nazir’s two children — two-year-old Fatima and three-year-old Muhammad.
In Matra Abad, within Kirri Khaisore police station limits, a woman named Sajal Bibi died after her house roof caved in, leaving her 14-year-old daughter Sonia and 11-year-old daughter Urooj injured.
In other areas, walls and roofs collapsed, injuring several residents.
A wall of Jamiat-ul-Madina mosque in Muryali also fell, though no casualties occurred. In Dinpur, the house of Arsalan Baloch completely collapsed.
After the storm, an emergency was declared in hospitals and the injured were given medical aid. DI Khan Commissioner Zafar-ul-Islam Khattak appealed to citizens to avoid unnecessary travel during stormy weather and take precautions to prevent further loss of life.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) also issued a flash flood and urban flooding alert for several K-P districts following recent rains.
According to the alert, the upper districts — Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Kohistan, Mansehra, Abbottabad — as well as plain areas — Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, and Mardan — could be affected.
It warned that low-lying areas in Peshawar, Nowshera, and Mardan remained at risk of urban flooding, while heavy rainfall and windstorms might also cause lightning strikes. It asked district administrations, police, Rescue 1122, and all relevant institutions to stay alert and take precautionary measures.
According to the PDMA’s latest report, the rains and flash floods have left 406 people dead and 247 injured in the K-P. Among the dead are 305 men, 55 women, and 46 children; while the injured include 179 men, 38 women, and 30 children.
The floods have damaged 3,526 houses in total — 2,945 partially and 577 completely destroyed. Buner remains the hardest-hit district with 337 deaths reported, while Swabi has reported 46 fatalities so far.
WITH INPUT FROM ANADOLU AGENCY
