Heavy rains trigger landslides in KP hilly areas

PESHAWAR: A child was killed and her mother sustained injuries in a roof collapse incident in Bara tehsil in Khyber tribal district as the rains continued to lash Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the second day, causing landslides in the hilly areas and leading to closure of some roads in Swat, Landikotal and Chitral districts.The provincial metropolis received heavy rain on Friday that inundated several low-lying areas.

BARA: A minor girl was killed and her mother injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Bara. The family members were asleep at night when the incident happened.Soon after the incident, the local people and Rescue 1122 officials reached the spot and rescued the injured. The child was taken to a hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

MANSEHRA: A landslide triggered by a heavy downpour blocked the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road to all sorts of traffic for hours in the Kawai area of Kaghan Valley.Heavy boulders detached from the roadside mountain rolled down on the MNJ road, blocking it to traffic.

“We escaped unhurt when boulders rolled down on the road as we passed by in a vehicle,” a local told reporters.He said following the landslide traffic remained blocked and passengers remained stranded for over two hours.

The rain continued to lash Mansehra, Torghar, Kolai-Palas, Upper Kohistan and Lower Kohistan intermittently throughout the day swelling Kunhar, Indus and Siran rivers as residents settled along the banks were directed by the district administration to move to safer places.

MINGORA: The continuous rain and land-sliding in hilly areas of Swat district caused problems for the locals and tourists.

The road between Bahrain and scenic Kalam Valley remained blocked for five hours. However, the administration managed to clear the road in the evening.

In a statement, the local administration said the Pakistan Army continued relief operations in Swat, Chitral and Khyber districts after landsliding at different various places due to heavy rains. The stranded tourists were rescued while several roads blocked due to landslides were reopened to traffic. The army also organized a medical camp wherfree medicines were also provided to the patients.

The local administration also issued an advisoryfor the local people and tourists to avoid unnecessary travel during the rains.

LANDIKOTAL: Officials said land-sliding occurred in Shen Pokh border village in Loey Shalman and they had moved heavy machinery but could not start work on at some places due to the rains.Assistant Commissioner Landikotal Irshad Ali Mohmand said landsliding was reported from at various parts of Landikotal and they had removed the debris to clear the roads.

The official said the number of damaged homes and other compounds had risen to over 50 in Landikotal. Several pet animals were also reported dead while standing crops were destroyed in the past two days of heavy downpour.

The official said they were collecting data about the rain losses, particularly in hilly areas, including Bazar Zakhakhel, Kam and Loey Shalman.

He said the main Pak-Afghan Highway from Jamrud to Torkham remained closed for hours over the past two days due to heavy downpour and flash floods.Residents said link roads in various villages in Landikotal remained cut off with the rest of Landikotal as these were washed away by flash floods. However, no casualty was reported.

TIMERGARA: The fresh spell of heavy rain and subsequent flash floods have so far claimed a total of 12 lives in the Lower Dir district.A total of 18 cattle were also killed in the district.

A communication issue from the office of Deputy Commissioner Lower Dir Wasil Khan said that due to the recent heavy rain a total of 18 houses were damaged completely while 277 ones sustained partial damage. The Revenue staff was collecting data to assess the damage.The communique said that a state of emergency had been declared in the district because of the weather conditions and heavy rains.