At least three people died and another three were injured in separate roof collapse incidents due to heavy rains across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, rescue officials said on Thursday.
Monsoon rains, which fall across the region from June to September every year, continue to lash many parts of the country. Starting in late June, Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across the country in the past month by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas.
In Lakki Marwat’s Sarai Naurang tehsil, three people were reported dead, including two women and a 15-year-old boy, when the roof of a room in their house collapsed amid heavy rain, according to a Rescue 1122 statement.
The Rescue 1122 team has cleared the debris and recovered the bodies of the deceased from the site of the incident, which were transferred to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Sarai Naurang, said the statement.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident in Bannu, at least two others — including a man and a young boy — were injured when the roof of their house collapsed due to heavy rain, according to a Rescue statement.
“The injured were immediately provided first aid as Rescue 1122 rushed to the site of the incident after the control room received reports of rain-related roof collapse in the Faqirabad Chowk area of Bannu,” said the statement.
The injured were transferred to the nearby hospital, it added.
Bannu Rescue 1122 spokesperson Ikram Wazir, in a statement, said that “rescue teams are on alert to ensure the protection of life and property in case of an emergency.”
In a similar incident, in KP’s Tank district, a 35-year-old man sustained “serious injuries” after the roof of a room in his house caved in as a result of rain, as per a statement issued by the media coordinator of Rescue 1122 in Tank.
“The injured was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), Tank,” it added.
On July 26, the Pakistan Meteorological Department had forecasted downpours from July 27 to 31 in KP, while the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) directed district administrations to act immediately, ensuring minimum damage to public life and property.
The advisory cautioned that heavy rainfall, windstorms and lightning could damage weak structures like roofs and walls of mud houses, electric poles, billboards, vehicles and solar panels.
On July 29, Flash floods triggered by heavy rain swept through Naran in KP’s Mansehra district, where rescue teams had to evacuate 160 stranded tourists.
Last week, 250 tourists and passengers stranded at the Babusar Highway were rescued by the Diamer district administration, volunteers, police, Rescue 1122 and the army, according to a spokesperson.
The national death toll from monsoon-related casualties surged to 234 since late June, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Of the 234 deaths, 79 were men, 42 women, and 113 — nearly half of the total — were children.