2 killed in rain-related incidents in KP, taking two-day tally to 9: PDMA

LAHORE/PESHAWAR: Rain-related incidents claimed the lives of two men in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, while Punjab witnessed two deaths in the last 24 hours due to similar occurrences, authorities said.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), a fresh monsoon spell across the country was set to begin from July 1 and continue till July 6.

Two deaths from a roof collapse incident in Mansehra took the number of lives lost since July 1 to nine, data from the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) showed.

At around 2am, torrential rain in Mansehra caused the roof of a temporary mud-and-wood shelter to collapse, claiming the lives of two shepherds and injuring four others, PDMA said.

Providing a breakdown of the total deaths since Wednesday, PDMA said they included four men, four children and a woman. Meanwhile, the 23 injured comprised 11 men, as many minors and a woman.

Two lives were lost each in Khyber and Mansehra, while Buner, Haripur, Nowshera, Shangla and Upper Dir saw one death each.

Five of those injured were from Lower Dir, and four each from Bajaur, Khyber, Mansehra and Mardan. A woman was wounded in Nowshera, while a child was hurt in Shangla.

While a police officer had said 21 female students were injured in a stampede after lightning struck near their seminary in Upper Dir, a PDMA report said they had fallen unconscious and no injury was reported, excluding the incident from its figures.

Additionally, a total of 163 cattle perished, including 138 in Lower Chitral and 25 in Upper Dir, PDMA said.

The rainfall impacted infrastructure as well, with Lower Chitral accounting for 30 of the total 41 damaged houses. Two were fully damaged, while 28 were partially affected in the district, which saw flash floods caused by heavy rain.

Six houses were fully or partially damaged in Shangla, while three were partially impacted in Upper Chitral.

Lower Chitral witnessed torrential rainfall and a cloudburst in the Osaik area of Drosh tehsil, resulting in a flashflood, the PDMA stated in an earlier update.

As a result, 27 houses were damaged, along with two mosques, two shops, a pedestrian bridge, two vehicles and two motorcycles.

Flashfloods caused by heavy rain also occurred in Upper Chitral, Haripur and Shangla, while lightning strikes were reported from Khyber, Bajaur, Buner and Upper Dir.

In Lower Dir, Mardan, Nowshera and Shangla, heavy rains coupled with gusty winds caused wall collapses and trees and solar panels to fall.

A statement issued by PDMA at 10am, citing data from the PMD, said 40 millimetres (mm) of rainfall was recorded in Kakul during the last 24 hours, 35mm in Malam Jabba, 30mm in Bajaur’s Pashat, 25mm in Balakot, 15mm in Bajaur’s Khaar, 16mm in Parachinar and Mamad Gut each, 10mm in Timergara, 6mm in DI Khan airport area, and 4mm in Pattan.

Peshawar witnessed traces of rain, while Dir, Saidu Sharif and Cherat reported 1mm each.

The PDMA said partly cloudy weather with chances of rain-windstorm/thunderstorm was expected in Peshawar, Upper and Lower Dir, Upper and Lower Chitral, Upper and Lower Kohistan, Kolai-Palas, Swat, Shangla, Malakand, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mardan, Swabi, Mohmand, Khyber, Nowshera, Charsadda, Kohat, Karak, Hangu, Kurram, Orakzai, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, D.I. Khan, Tank, and North and South Waziristan districts.

“Isolated hailstorm/heavyfalls may also occur during the forecast period,” it added.

2 deaths in Punjab in last 24 hours

In Punjab, at least two people were killed and nine others injured in rain-related incidents during the past 24 hours, Rescue 1122 said on Thursday.

In a statement, Punjab Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad said the casualties resulted from the collapse of walls, roofs and a billboard triggered by strong winds and heavy rain.

In Attock, two people were killed and three others injured when a wall collapsed near Naya Pump. In a separate incident in Para Shaheen Bagh, three people sustained injuries after the roof of a house caved in, the spokesperson said.

In Khushab’s Qaidabad area, one person was injured after being struck by lightning. In Sargodha, one person suffered injuries when a signboard collapsed due to strong winds, he added.

In Sheikhupura, one person was injured after a wooden roof collapsed on Chak Risala Road. Rescue 1122 said emergency teams responded to all incidents and shifted the injured to nearby hospitals.

According to the PMD, Mandi Bahauddin recorded the highest rainfall of 23mm between 8pm and 11pm on Wednesday. Murree received 17mm, while Hafizabad and Sheikhupura recorded 14mm each.

Other areas received comparatively lighter rainfall, including Gujranwala (11mm), Lahore Airport (10mm), Gujrat (10mm), Garhi Dupatta (10mm), Lahore (6mm), Jhelum (6mm), Mangla (5mm), Balakot (4mm), Barkhan (4mm), Islamabad Zero Point (4mm), Chaklala (4mm), Kotli (3mm), Pattan (1mm), Chakwal (1mm) and Dera Ghazi Khan (1mm).

Monsoon rains occur across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenishing water supplies. However, heavy downpours also trigger deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas.