PESHAWAR: At least 27 people died and 146 others injured in gusty winds and rain-related incidents in Bannu, Karak, Lakki Marwat and D I Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said updates shared by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) here on Sunday.
It said that 69 houses were damaged partially in the affected districts.
Devastated gusty winds and heavy rain played havoc with the southern districts of Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Karak and D I Khan districts on Saturday evening. Bannu remained the worst affected district wherein 15 deaths and injuries to 100 others have been reported followed by Karak with 5 deaths. Similarly, the death of one person and injuring of 42 persons was reported from Lakki Marwat while the death of two children reported from D I Khan.
The teams of Rescue 1122, district administration and other relief agencies arrived in the affected areas and begun rescue and relief operation. The injured have been shifted to hospitals.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Azam Khan have announced special relief package for the families of the victims.
Under the package, the heirs of those died would get a compensation of Rs.1 million while critically and minor injured Rs.0.3 million and Rs.50,000, respectively. Similarly, the owner of the killed large cattle will get compensation up to Rs.50,000 and Rs.8,000/ for small cattle.
Secretary Relief, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has said that relief operation for the affected people is in full swing while district administration has also been directed to conduct assessment of the losses from the natural disaster. In the meanwhile, the provincial government has also released a fund amounting to Rs.40 million for the affectees of district Bannu.
Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nadeem Aslam Chaudhery paid an emergency visit to the rain affected Bannu division on Sunday. He also visited hospitals and affected localities.
First he went to Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Sarai Naurang and inquired after the health of the injured persons and then to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital, Bannu wherein the Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital gave him a detailed briefing about facilities provided to patients in the hospital.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023