PESHAWAR: At least two children were killed and more than 20 female students were injured in separate lightning strike incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), on Wednesday.
In Lower Dir’s Waari area, lightning struck a girls’ religious seminary where around 250 students were present at the time. More than 20 students sustained injuries and were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Waari for medical treatment. Hospital sources said several of the injured were reported to be in stable condition.
In a separate incident in the Zakhakhel Bazaar area of Landi Kotal tehsil in Khyber district, lightning struck a residential house, killing two children on the spot and injuring three other members of the same family.
According to the police, the lightning had hit the house of a local resident named Zaleeb Gul. The emergency services and the locals present at the spot had immediately taken the injured to the nearest hospital, and according to reports, one of them is critically injured.
It has been confirmed that all the injured in the above-mentioned Khyber district case belong to the same family.
Melting Glaciers: PDMA Warns of Imminent GLOF Threat in KP
Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has issued a high alert for the upper districts of the province amid concerns over a possible glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF) triggered by rising temperatures and accelerated glacial melt.
A spokesperson of PDMA has said that because of increasing temperatures in the hilly regions, the chances of breaking or overflowing of glacial lakes have increased resulting in flash floods and landslides in vulnerable valleys.
The alert is for Upper and Lower Chitral, Swat, Upper Dir, Kohistan and Mansehra districts. The authorities in the districts have been directed to stay on high alert and adopt preventive measures against the danger.
PDMA has directed the district authorities to monitor the glacier lakes and their surroundings very carefully, besides maintaining full readiness of emergency response staff, equipment and rescue people to face any such situation.
The provincial disaster management authority has laid special emphasis on evacuation plans of communities at risk areas and suggested that the authorities evacuate the people from such hazardous places.
Moreover, the PDMA has asked tourists not to venture into mountainous and glacier areas as these are prone to more hazards because of the changing weather patterns and risk of floods.
It has advised people to stay clear of rivers, streams, and rushing rain channels when there are chances of heavy rains as these could pose hazards to their lives and property.
The authorities stated that the situation would continue to be monitored and they will provide more guidance based on the changing weather pattern.
