At least 13 people died and eight were injured in rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur and Lower Dir districts on Friday, rescue officials said.
Since late June, monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across the country — especially KP and northern regions — by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas.
At least 325 people, including 142 children, have died and 743 others have been injured since June 26 in flash floods and torrential rains that have battered several parts of Pakistan, according to updated daily data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
In Bajaur, there were “reports of several people injured in flash floods, which were caused by a cloudburst (heavy rainfall) in Salarzai tehsil’s Jabrarai village”, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi told Dawn.com.
“Rescue 1122 personnel, with the cooperation of residents, have so far recovered eight bodies and rescued four injured from the rubble and rainwater,” Faizi confirmed. The injured were taken to a hospital after receiving immediate medical aid in an ambulance.
The official detailed that disaster management, medical and diving teams were involved in the rescue efforts.
A search and rescue operation is underway under the supervision of Bajaur District Emergency Officer Amjad Khan, the spokesperson added.
Citing locals, Faizi said about 17 people remained missing, for whom rescue teams were continuing their search. DEO Amjad Khan and the station house in-charge were personally supervising the operation, the Rescue 1122 official added.
Separately, five people died and four were wounded when the roof of a house in the Suri Pao village of Lower Dir’s Maidan area collapsed due to heavy rain, Faizi said.
Detailing the hurdles, the rescue official said: “The rescue team reached the scene after walking for three hours despite heavy rain, flooded rails, difficult and bad roads.”
Yesterday, over a dozen people were killed as rains and flooding ripped through the country’s northern parts, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
In Muzaffarabad, a massive landslide in Sarli Sacha village hit a home, leaving six members of a family buried and feared dead. Torrential rains claimed the lives of two more women in AJK’s Bagh and Sudhnoti districts.
In GB, flash floods killed at least eight people, with two still missing in the Ghizer district, while also devastating villages in the Khalti, Ishkoman and Yasin areas.
Similarly, a spell of heavy downpour lashed various parts of Abbottabad district yesterday, triggering flash floods that severely disrupted traffic flow and caused damage to infrastructure.