Heavy rains and flash floods have wreaked havoc in many cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Punjab, claiming lives of 11 people in rain-related incidents. As many as 11 people lost their lives in rain-related incidents in different parts of the country. Five people, including women and children, were killed while four others were injured after the roof of a house collapsed due to heavy rains in Lower Dir on Thursday.

Soon after the incident, the employees of Rescue 1122 and Al-Khidmat Foundation rushed to the site and removed the bodies as well as the injured from underneath the rubble. A woman and her daughter were killed after the roof of their house caved in in Khairabad area of Garhi Habibullah in Mansehra. Meanwhile, two people were killed while one was injured when the car they were travelling in was swept away by floodwater at Basyan near Balakot in Mansehra.

As many as six people were sitting in the car when the calamity struck them. Teams of the Rescue 1122 saved the lives of four people. 30-year-old Mir Hamza and 25-year-old Asad were those killed in the incident. Two sisters were electrocuted in Toba Tek Singh. As many as six to eight houses were submerged under the water, while there were fears of dozens more houses getting affected as the River Indus burst its banks in Chilas.

Residents of the area built embankments on their own as no one from the authorities came to their rescue. The affected people appealed to the government to provide them relief items and shift them to safe places. Bridges, guesthouses washed away in Neelum Three bridges and two guesthouses were washed away following a deluge in Neelum Valley in Azad Jammu and Kashmir due to a cloudburst. The water levels were exceedingly high in River Neelum and Nullah Jagran.

A motorcycle of a tourist was washed away after the water from Ratti Galli nullah spilled over into the land. The water also damaged a two-kilometer stretch of a road. Meanwhile, due to the severing of road links, 500 people, mostly tourists, including AJK Minister for Information, got stranded in Base Camp. Rescue 1122 employees managed to shift 60 tourists to safe places. River Sutlej burst its banks at Arifwala as 45,000 cusecs of water entered agricultural fields, destroying crops sown over dozens of acres.

Three youth, who had been left stranded between two streams in Balakot, were rescued by the employees of Rescue 1122. Traffic had to be suspended on Malam Jabba Road in Swat due to landslides, prompting the administration to urge tourists to avoid travelling. The removal of debris was underway till last reports came in.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)