PESHAWAR: Rain-related incidents killed two people and injured 11 in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday afternoon.

A child was killed and four people suffered injuries in roof collapse incidents in Swabi. Another person lost life and three members of the same family were injured in a lightning strike in Shangla district.

Three people were wounded in the Mattani area of the provincial capital and another in Nowshera district.

Peshawar, which remained in the grip of a sweltering heat for some weeks, received a heavy rain, which considerably brought down temperatures.

A large number of roads and neighbourhoods across the capital city were flooded in the heavy downpour. The city also witnessed power breakdown in several areas due to the rain.

Rescue 1122 said a dhabba’s roof collapsed in Mattani area of Peshawar, injuring three people. Also, a wall collapse in Badershi area of Nowshera left a person injured.

A child died and four people injured when the roofs of two houses collapsed due to rain and storm in Manki village of Chota Lahor area in Swabi district.

The injured, who were the mother and sister of the deceased, were taken to the Bacha Khan Teaching Hospital.

Similarly, the roof of another house collapsed in Baja village, injuring a woman and her young son. The neighbours recovered the injured from under the debris and shifted them to the hospital.

The heavy rain, accompanied by a windstorm, caused the collapse of boundary walls of several houses in the district. However, no damage to public life was reported. The storm uprooted trees, causing them to fall on the main transmission line and disconnecting power supply.

Low-lying areas in Kunda village, Sheikh Dheri, Maneri, Saleem Khan, Bamkhel, Beka, Tordher Charbagh, Gohati, Zaida, Kalabat, Zarobi, Jehangira, Adina Ismalia, Yar Hussain, Chota Lahor, Tarakai and several other regions were inundated, while rivers and canals overflew.

The rainwater entered houses and shops in Topi main bazaar.

Officials of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company said restoration of power supply would take a “long time.”

Lightning struck a house in the Losar area of Bisham tehsil on Tuesday evening, killing a man and injuring his three family members.

Rasool Khan Sharif, a spokesperson for Rescue 1122, Shangla, confirmed deaths, saying the house of the three people was struck by a lightning strike during heavy rain.

He said the incident took place in a hilly mountainous area where local people rescued the family members. However, a young man, Ali Rehman, had died on the spot, while three were injured. They’re shifted to the tehsil headquarters hospital in Bisham for treatment.

Parts of the Shangla district were hit by heavy rain coupled with strong windstorm on Tuesday evening, disrupting power supply.

Upper parts of the Hazara Division on Tuesday received downpour and snowfall, blocking the Karakoram Highway to traffic at two locations in Lower Kohistan district.

“The floodwater carrying heavy rocks and stones from nearby mountains blocked the Karakoram Highway to all sorts of traffic at two points in our district,” Mohammad Duraj of Rescue 1122 from Lower Kohistan told reporters.

Babusar Top, the highest point in the Kaghan Valley, received heavy snowfall, significantly dropping temperatures across the district.

Police personnel deployed in the area guided motorists to vacate the region without delay to prevent mishaps due to slippery roads.

The torrential rain began to fall in the afternoon and continued throughout the day in Mansehra, Torghar, Kolai-Palas and Lower and Upper Kohistan.

Floodwaters brought rocks and debris onto the highway in Jigal and Gloze Banda areas of Lower Kohistan district, suspending vehicular traffic within the district and disrupting connectivity between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.

“The rain has stopped us from clearing debris from the highway, while we’re waiting for machines to come and clear it,” Mr Duraj said.

He said the gushing floodwater continued to flow heavily, preventing machines from reaching the blocked points.

“We hope to clear the route later in the day weather permitting,” he said.

The Rescue 1122 official confirmed that while the KKH remained structurally intact, the obstruction caused by rocks and stones had blocked traffic.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said that Malam Jabba received 26mm of rain, Peshawar 12mm, Balakot 18mm, Cherat 11mm, Pattan and Lower Dir 8mm, Mirkhani 6mm, Kalam 5mm, and Chitral and Saidu Sharif 1mm.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2025