PESHAWAR: At least 32 people were killed and another 42 injured in the last six days as heavy rains and floods have thrashed Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a report on Wednesday.
The rains started last Friday and have caused large-scale damage in different parts of KP while the PDMA has warned of another spell of heavy downpours in the province from April 17-21.
The report issued by PDMA on Wednesday morning said the 32 casualties in KP included 15 children, 12 men, and 5 women while the injured comprised 6 women, 28 men, and 7 children. A total of 1370 houses had also been damaged, 160 of them completely.
The country’s national and provincial disaster management authorities said on Tuesday almost 60 people had been killed throughout the country due to the current spell of rains and resultant floods.
Residents stand near the flooded waters outside their homes following heavy rains in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 17, 2024.(AFP)
“Further heavy rains are expected to cause flash floods in low-lying areas [of KP] and have raised concerns about landslides in hilly regions,” PDMA spokesperson Ihsan Dawar told Arab News.
“The district administrations should take proactive and immediate measures before the second spell of the rains begins … and ensure the availability of small and large machinery.”
Some of the districts where loss of life and property took place are Khyber, Upper and Lower Dir, Chitral Upper and Lower, Swat, Bajaur, Shangla, Mansehra, Mohmand, Malakand, Kurram, Tank, Mardan, Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Buner, Hangu, Batagram, Bannu, North and South Waziristan, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan and Kozai.
A displaced man waits for assistance outside his tent at a makeshift camp after fleeing from his flood hit home following heavy rains in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 17, 2024. (AFP)
Relief activities have been launched in several affected areas and the PDMA has released over Rs160 million for families of those who have died due to rain-related incidents, according to the PDMA spokesperson.
“The loss of precious human lives in various incidents resulting from the rains is deeply saddening,” the chief minister of KP said in a statement.
The eastern province of Punjab has reported 21 lighting- and collapse-related deaths, while Balochistan, in the country’s southwest, reported 10 dead as authorities declared a state of emergency following flash floods.
On Wednesday, Balochistan was bracing for more rains amid ongoing rescue and relief operations, as flash floods inundated villages near the coastal city of Gwadar.
In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point flooded a third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damages, from which Pakistan is still trying to rebuild. Balochistan saw rainfall at 590 percent above average that year, while Karachi saw 726 percent more rainfall than usual.
