PESHAWAR: Intermittent light and heavy rainfall, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and powerful gale-force winds, lashed various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, leaving a trail of destruction and at least two fatalities.
While the storms provided much-needed relief from the heat in Peshawar—where dark clouds hovered throughout the day—the severe weather triggered panic and several tragic accidents across the province. According to official sources, two people, including a woman, lost their lives, while several others were injured in weather-related incidents. In Swabi, policeman Naeem Khan, son of Idrees Khan, was killed by a lightning strike in the Tarlandi area, while his brother, Saeed Khan, was injured in the same incident. Another fatality occurred in Baja Kali, where a woman died after a wall of her house collapsed.
In other areas, the storm caused significant casualties and damage. In Tehsil Rustam’s Machhi Altafabad Banda, an elderly man named Mir Muhammad Khan was critically injured by a falling tree. In Kalu Khan, a child was seriously injured by a falling solar panel, and in Yar Hussain Adda, two people were struck by a falling signboard. Structural damage was also reported in Abbottabad, where strong winds blew the roof off a private school near Malikpura Chitta Pul. Rescue 1122 teams remained active throughout the day, responding to house fires in Dagai and Mal Lara, as well as a wall collapse in Shiwa Kali that left one person seriously injured.
Life was further paralysed in Buner and its surroundings, where daytime darkness and intense dust storms uprooted signboards in Suvari and Dewana Baba, forcing shopkeepers to close their businesses. The Meteorological Department has predicted continued rain, thunder, and lightning across the province, prompting authorities to urge citizens to take strict precautionary measures. Rescue 1122 remains on high alert, taking immediate action on all emergency calls received by the control room as relief operations continue in the affected districts.
