Torrential monsoon rains, strong winds, and flash floods caused widespread destruction across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces, claiming seven lives and injuring 19 others, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Thursday.
Casualties and Damage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The latest PDMA report for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stated that the deceased include two men, four children, and one woman, while the injured comprise seven men, one woman, and 11 children. The severe weather also damaged 38 houses across the province. Of these, 36 sustained partial damage, while two were completely destroyed. The extreme weather conditions also inflicted heavy losses on solar panel installations at various houses and gas stations. The affected districts include Khyber, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Mardan, Shangla, Charsadda, Bajaur, and Lower Chitral.
Heavy rains, flash floods, and lightning strikes caused casualties and widespread damage in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with two children killed and more than 15 female students injured, according to the PDMA. The PDMA said two children lost their lives and three others were injured after lightning struck in the Zakha Khel area of Bara in Khyber district. The injured were provided immediate medical treatment. In a separate incident, lightning struck a women’s madrassa in Lower Dir, injuring more than 15 students. Around 250 students were present at the seminary at the time of the incident. The injured were shifted to Wari Hospital for treatment.
Flood Damage in Chitral
According to the PDMA, torrential rains and flash floods in Lower Chitral damaged 27 houses, two mosques, two shops, and a bridge. Four vehicles and several motorcycles were also affected by flood waters. In Upper Chitral, flooding damaged a house in the Yarkhun and Mastuj areas. The district administration and relief agencies have provided emergency assistance to the affected families.
Fatalities in Punjab
Meanwhile, two people were killed and nine others sustained injuries in various rain and wind related incidents across Punjab province during the last 24 hours. According to a spokesperson for Rescue 1122, the fatalities occurred near Naya Pump in Attock, where a wall collapsed due to strong winds and heavy downpour, leaving two people dead and three others injured. In a separate incident in the Para Shaheen Bagh area of Attock, three more individuals were injured when the roof of a house caved in due to the severe weather conditions.
Weather Forecast and Warnings
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast rain-windstorms and thundershowers in Kashmir, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeastern Punjab, and Gilgit-Baltistan on Friday, while hot and dry weather is expected to prevail over the rest of the country. The Met Office warned that heavy rainfall during Thursday night could trigger landslides in vulnerable areas of upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat, and Kashmir, besides causing flash flooding in local streams and nullahs. Flash floods may also occur in hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan and local nullahs in northeastern Balochistan.
It said heavy rains could lead to urban and flash flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Nowshera, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujranwala, Lahore, and Faisalabad during the forecast period. The PMD further cautioned that windstorms and lightning could damage vulnerable structures, including solar panels, electricity poles, and billboards.
Regional Weather Details
In Islamabad, hot weather is expected during the day, while rain accompanied by gusty winds and thunderstorms is likely during the morning and night hours. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rain-windstorms and thundershowers are expected in Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Chitral, Battagram, Buner, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Malakand, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Peshawar, Hangu, Kurram, and Waziristan, while other districts are likely to remain hot and dry.
In Punjab, rain is expected in Rawalpindi, Murree, Galliyat, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Wazirabad, Khushab, Lahore, Okara, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, and Narowal. Rain-windstorms may also occur in Bhakkar, Layyah, Mianwali, and Dera Ghazi Khan during the evening and night, while the remaining districts are expected to experience hot and dry weather.
Sindh is likely to remain very hot and humid, although partly cloudy conditions are expected along coastal areas. Rain with gusty winds and thunderstorms may occur in Shahdadkot, Dadu, Sukkur, and Jacobabad during the evening and night. Most districts of Balochistan are expected to remain very hot and dry. However, rain-windstorms and thundershowers are likely in Zhob, Sherani, Naseerabad, Sibi, Musakhel, Barkhan, and Khuzdar during the evening and night. Partly cloudy weather with rain-windstorms and thundershowers is expected in Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, with isolated heavy rainfall also likely in Kashmir.
Recorded Rainfall and Temperatures
During the last 24 hours, rain-windstorms and thundershowers, including isolated heavy falls, occurred in Punjab, Islamabad, Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northeastern Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan, while hot and humid weather prevailed over the rest of the country. Murree received the highest rainfall of 72 millimetres, followed by Islamabad Airport 48mm, Golra 39mm, and Lahore’s Nishtar Town 38mm. The highest maximum temperature recorded in the country on Thursday was 46 degrees Celsius in Dalbandin, followed by Nokkundi at 45C, while Sibbi and Dadu recorded 44C each.
