At least 55 killed in flash floods in northern Pakistan
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Pakistani vendors try to salvage materials after flood water destroyed shops following heavy rain on the outskirts of Peshawar on April 4 2016. AFP / A MAJEED
ISLAMABAD: Flash floods triggered byheavy rain in Pakistan have killed at least 55 people andrescuers were trying on Monday to help thousands of survivorsincluding some cut off by a landslide in a mountain valleyofficials said.
The weather system that brought the unusually heavy rain wasexpected to move northeast towards northern India althoughmore isolated storms were expected in northern Pakistan the
Meteorological Department said.
Yousuf Zia a disaster management official in KhyberPakhtunkhwa province said nearly 150 homes had been destroyedand tents and blankets were being distributed to the homeless.
"There are 30 people stranded by a landslide in the KohistanValley where we have sent a helicopter to rescue them" Ziasaid.
Forty-seven people were killed and 37 injured in KhyberPakhtunkhwa Zia said while eight people were killed inPakistani-administered Kashmir officials there said.
Landslides caused widespread damage to roads andcommunication infrastructure in the Pakistani side of Kashmirthey said.
One of the worst-affected districts was the Swat Valleynorthwest of the capital Islamabad where 121 mm (4.76 inches)of rain fell on Sunday the Meteorological Department said.
Reuters