Rescue teams evacuated 160 stranded tourists from Naran in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra district after flash floods, triggered by heavy rainfall, swept through parts of the region on Wednesday, according to a Rescue 1122 spokesperson.
Monsoon rains, which fall across the region from June to September, are crucial to the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security. However, they also wreak havoc by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas.
This year’s monsoon rains continue to lash many parts of the country, prompting authorities to release an urban flooding warning for several cities.
Mansehra’s Rescue 1122 spokesperson, Amir Khadam Khan, told Dawn.com that 160 tourists were stranded after floods hit Naran, Jalkhad, Barwai and Besar.
“Rescue 1122 personnel crossed the flood drain on foot near Besar to access more than 160 stranded tourists and vehicles,” he said. “All the people were safely evacuated and accommodated in nearby hotels.”
He added that the Naran Road was also blocked in multiple locations. However, after “tireless” efforts of 12 consecutive hours, it was cleared for all traffic by the National Highway Authority, with the support of the police and the Kaghan Development Authority.
The spokesperson said that the rescue operation still continued in the area, and the stranded tourists’ vehicles were also successfully recovered.
He added that during the operation, Rescue 1122 provided first aid to seven or eight people with minor injuries, severe body pain, hypoglycemia, vomiting and other ailments. Fresh water was also provided to the tourists.
“Fortunately, no serious casualties were reported,” Khadam said.
Meanwhile, flash floods triggered by heavy rain caused the deaths of two children due to a house collapse in the Hazara Division in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The Abbottabad police spokesperson, Azam Khan, told Dawn.com that two children were killed after a house collapsed in Bakot, Abbottabad, on Tuesday night.
“The bodies were recovered by locals, adding that the girls were between two and three years old,” he said.
Last week, 250 tourists and passengers stranded at the Babusar Highway were rescued by the Diamer district administration, volunteers, police, Rescue 1122 and the army, according to a spokesperson.
However, at the same time, the national death toll from monsoon-related casualties surged to 234 since late June, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Of the 234 deaths, 79 were men, 42 women and 113 — nearly half of the total — were children.
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