12 family members killed as roof collapses during heavy rainfall in Upper Dir
Twelve members of a family were killed in their sleep early Friday morning when the roof of their mud house collapsed due to heavy rainfall in Maidan tehsil, Upper Dir, a rescue official said.
Women and children were among the dead, rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmad Faizi confirmed to Dawn.com.
He added that the bodies had been pulled out and shifted to Maidan hospital after the search operation was completed under the supervision of the district emergency officer.
District Police Officer (DPO) Waqar Ahmed also confirmed the incident. He identified the deceased as Noshad Khan, Khan Bacha, Wali Rehman, their respective wives, and their children aged three to 22.
Heavy rain has lashed parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa all month, including the Malakand and Hazara division, where river flow has also increased. Floods have swept away the main bridge connecting Mansehra and Naran. Recently, a steel bridge was installed for connectivity with Babusar.
The Karakoram Highway was blocked after a landslide at Diamer. However, it was reopened for traffic on Friday.
Pakistan experiences its monsoon season from July to August, typically receiving around 255mm of rain each month.
In 2022, the monsoon rains caused extensive damage throughout the country, with over 75,000 homes destroyed and 130,000 partially damaged in KP alone, according to figures from the government and international aid agencies.
A Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) report issued on August 28 shows that 74 people have been killed and 128 injured from July to August 28 due to the current monsoon spell in KP.
The report also said that 906 houses were damaged due to rain-related incidents in the last two months.
From July 29 to August 1, 24 people were killed and 17 injured as heavy rains lashed the province, according to the KP PDMA.
On August 17, a local government representative was swept away by strong currents in a Swabi nullah, and a minor boy was killed in a Bannu wall collapse incident as heavy rains triggered flash floods in several districts of KP.