‘Mini cyclone’ claims 35 lives in KP

• 110km/h windstorm with 17mm rain wreaks havoc in Peshawar, KP areas
• 35 dead, more than 200 injured in roof collapse incidents as parts of KP drown in blackouts

At least 35 people were killed and nearly 200 injured on Sunday as heavy rains and windstorm hammered Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including Peshawar, Charsadda, Naushera, Badhu Samar Bagh, Badhani Pul and Liaquatabad.

Around 17 millimetre rain was recorded in Peshawar and adjacent areas while Mushtaq Ali Shah, director of the provincial Meteorological Department, described the storm as a “mini cyclone with wind speeds of 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour)”. He added the cyclone had lost speed but heavy rainfall was expected in the province’s northern districts over the next three to four hours.

Mehsud said that rescue operations were being hampered due to blocked roads, while the collapse of mobile towers was disrupting communication.

SSP Mian Saeed confirmed the death toll saying that at least 35 houses had collapsed. The dead and the injured, including women and children, were shifted to hospitals, he said.

Sign boards and polls collapsed and several trees got uprooted following the disaster which caused most casualties, while flood water from torrential rainfall had reached three feet (one metre) deep in some parts of the city of more than three million people.

The rescue officials have confirmed that several children and minors are also among those injured who have been rushed to the hospital.

Power cut was witnessed in numerous areas, while communication systems also failed. With rescue teams afoot amidst electricity blackout and clogged highways, the casualties occurred in various incidents of roof collapse and road accidents.

In one of the incidents, three rooms collapsed in Wahid Garhi area on Charsadda Road, burying a family underneath. Six bodies had been recovered from the rubble including five children and a mother, said Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Jamil Shah.

In other incidents, at least 4 people died and 11 were injured as several roofs collapsed in Charsadda as well.

Initially, officials of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) were reported absent and people were said to be carrying out relief activities on their own. Provincial authorities later imposed an emergency at all hospitals in affected areas, including Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.

In the meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Information Minister Mushtaq Ghani said that the Metrological Department did not issue any warning about the rains, thunderstorm and the hailstorm.

Moreover, Pakistan Army sent a team comprising doctors, paramedics and rescue teams to bring calm to the calamity-hit province. According to the inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Combined Military Hospital (CMH) is on high-alert while all necessary facilities for the injured have been readied.

Following the incident, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan telephoned KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and inquired about the situation. He expressed immense grief over the loss of lives due to the calamity and advised the CM to ensure best medical facilities to the injured.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have expressed grief over the loss of lives in the torrential rains in the province. In separate messages, they asked the governor and chief minister to personally supervise the relief activities. He also directed both of the high-ups to extend all-out help for a speedy recovery of the injured.

Moreover, former president Asif Ali Zardari expressed profound grief and sorrow over the loss of lives and devastation caused by torrential rains and flash floods in Peshawar, Sawabi and other parts of KP. He asked the provincial president of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to set up emergency medical and relief camps to help alleviate the sufferings of the flood affected people.

Furthermore, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif telephoned KP governor and chief minister and expressed deep sense of sorrow and grief over loss of precious human lives due to torrential rains in Peshawar and offered help in the provision of medical facilities to injured persons. He directed Punjab chief secretary to immediately contact KP chief secretary and make arrangements for immediate provision of required items in emergent situation to KP government.