36 killed in rains, flash floods in Pakistan

As many as 36 people were killed and over 50 injured in rain-related incidents as torrential downpours inundated Karachi and the country’s northwest on Saturday.
The Pakistan Army was called out to support relief work in Karachi, where 16 people died. Five persons, including three children, were electrocuted while a woman drowned after falling into an open manhole, officials said.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and the FATA were also affected by rains, with 14 reported dead and 34 injured in separate incidents since yesterday. Six deaths were reported in Punjab.
Four members of a family were killed in Parachinar when the wall of a house collapsed. Deaths were also reported in Peshawar and Chitral. Five women and a baby girl were killed and several others were injured across KP.
In South Waziristan five people, including a woman, were drowned.
The Met Office said 115mm of rain was recorded in Karachi. Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui said an emergency had been declared in the city.
An official of the Karachi Electricity Corporation said at least 400 feeders had tripped or been damaged by the rains which continued throughout the day.
“Every time we get rains in Karachi, there is no power. When will these people ever learn?” said Fahad Ahmed, a resident of Karachi.
Extensive property damage was reported from Pakistan’s northern regions and residents in many areas were forced to leave homes inundated by rainwater.
More mass displacement is expected as the level of several rivers continued to rise. Nearly 50,000 cusecs of water flowed into Warsak Dam on Friday, increasing its water level.
Officials said they feared the flooding could reach Nowshera.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, seven districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have been declared sensitive.
PDMA chief Atifur Rehman said tents, water and food supplies had been sent to these areas, but “the situation is something to worry about”.
In the northern Chitral district, officials said rains had washed away about 60 houses and destroyed two bridges connecting the Kalash valley.
Unofficially, however, the figure was as high as 120. At least 45 of these houses were in Bamboret valley.
Four people were killed at Bagh in Azad Kashmir when their vehicle was swept off the road by flash floods. Another man reportedly drowned in Bagh’s Ghaniabad area. Seventeen more were reported injured across Azad Kashmir.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif directed the National Disaster Management Authority to immediately coordinate relief efforts with the provincial government.
In Balochistan’s districts Jhal Magsi, Naseerabad and Jaffarabad four people were killed and dozen others were injured. The floods damaged hundreds of houses and inundated several villages.
The Met Department has issued flood warning in northwest and eastern area of the province.
The reports say Quetta, Kalat, Naushki, Harnai, Zhob, Ziarat, Mastung Jhal Magsi, Sibi, Naseerabad, Sanjavi, Mushakhel, Dera Allyar, Khuzdar and other areas received heavy rains that caused flash floods that damaged hundreds of mud-houses and destroyed standing corps besides perishing cattle.
A body, identified as that of Ali Murad, a resident of Goth Akhundani, was recovered while two people were rescued by volunteers.
Balochistan government’s spokesman Jan Buledi told reporters that rescue operations had been initiated in Jhal Magsi and the Irrigation secretary and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority DG had been moved there to supervise relief work.