PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has released a comprehensive report on the damages caused by the flash floods and rain-triggered incidents in the province, putting the death toll at 13, including nine children, during the past 48 hours.
In its damage report released on Wednesday, the PDMA said that Swat has recorded the highest death toll, as six children and one woman died owing to flash floods and a house collapsing, while a woman and child were injured.
Three people died in Buner, which experienced heavy rain with thunder and lightning. A woman and her child died in a lightning strike, while an eight-year-old boy was swept away. “The dead body has been recovered by the locals,” the PDMA said.
Incidents caused by heavy rains in Bajaur claimed the lives of a man and a child. The victims were brothers, aged 21 and five.
“Their mother was successfully rescued while the bodies of both brothers were recovered,” the PDMA quoted the Bajaur Deputy Commissioner’s Office as saying.
Per the report, a woman also died in Upper Kohistan, while a child was injured in Torghar as heavy rains caused a roof to collapse. A total of 19 houses had been damaged due to the heavy downpour, out of which two were completely destroyed and 17 sustained partial damage.
“The current spell of heavy rains is likely to continue intermittently until July 25,” the report said.
“The PDMA has already sent a letter to all district administrations to take precautionary measures in view of the weather situation, and has directed that relief activities be intensified in affected districts to provide immediate relief to all victims,” it said.
The authority directed that all tourists be apprised of the weather and to take precautionary measures.
“The public should contact the free helpline 1700 for any untoward incident, weather situation updates and information,” the report added.
Overall, the monsoon death toll since the end of June rose to 252, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Heavy rains triggered flash floods in several districts of KP and Gilgit-Baltistan, damaging homes and increasing water levels in rivers and streams.
On Monday, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur directed the district administration to remain on high alert after forecasts indicated more monsoon rains in the province.
He instructed all relevant departments to take precautionary measures to deal with potential risks such as floods and landslides.
A day earlier, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned of a heightened risk of glacial lake outburst floods (Glofs) in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as over 200 stranded tourists were rescued from GB’s Diamer district as heavy floods battered the region.
