Heavy rains and snow hit Pakistan, destroying homes and leaving dozens dead

Heavy rains and snow have wreaked havoc across Pakistan over the past 4 days, leaving at least 36 people dead and 50 others injured, according to authorities. The affected areas include the scenic Swat Valley, the Khyber district, and other parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. The heavy rainfall and snowfall have caused houses to collapse, triggered landslides, and blocked roads, particularly in the country’s northwest.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported that the death toll from torrential rain and snowfall in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reached 30 on Monday, March 4, 2024, with 43 people sustaining injuries in separate rain-related incidents. The PDMA spokesperson, Taimor Khan, said that 46 houses across the province were destroyed in rainfall and landslides while over 300 were damaged.

Relief items have been dispatched to the affected districts on the special directives of KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, and directives have also been issued regarding the clearance of blocked roads. The affected districts include Charsadda, Lower and Upper Dir, Malakand, Mohmand, Bannu, Khyber, Bajaur, Nowshera, Peshawar, Shangla, and Kohistan.

In Balochistan, the intensity of cold increased after light snowfall was recorded on the hilltops in Kalat, Ziarat, Chaman, and Quetta, the PDMA said. Five people, including children, have died in roof collapse incidents since the start of the spell while over 900 were rescued and moved to safer locations. Meanwhile, 82 houses were destroyed, and over 120 suffered partial damage. Relief operations are underway in nine districts of Balochistan, including Gwadar, Quetta, Kech, Kharan, Chaman, Kohlu, Kila Saifullah, Kachi, and Zhob.

Separately, the Karakoram Highway and the Jaglot-Skardu road were blocked at multiple points for the fourth consecutive day today, National Highway Authority Deputy Director Ghulam Abbas said. Two huge landslide boulders had blocked the KKH at Upper Kohistan of KP and Tata Pani of GB’s Diamer. The Bisham-Swat road in Shangla was also blocked at multiple locations due to landslides and snowfall.

Authorities in neighboring Afghanistan said Sunday that harsh winter weather had killed more than 5 000 livestock and destroyed 403 homes in different parts of the country in the past three days alone.

References:

¹ Dozens killed, hundreds stranded as rain and landslides paralyse parts of country – DAWN – March 4, 2024

² At least 36 die in Pakistan as heavy winter rains collapse buildings and trigger landslides – AP – March 3, 2024

Featured image credit: NASA NOAA/SUOMI NPP, The Watchers. Acquired on March 2, 2024.