14 killed as rains wreak havoc in Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces

ISLAMABAD: At least 14 people were killed and several others wounded in incidents related to heavy rains in Pakistan’s Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in the last 24 hours, provincial authorities and local media reported on Saturday.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) earlier this week predicted heavy rains and snowfall across the South Asian country.
A strong westerly wave entered Pakistan’s western and upper parts earlier this week, producing rain and snowfall. It was forecast to grip the areas until Sunday.
Over a dozen people, including children, were killed as torrential rains damaged multiple houses in Punjab’s Gujranwala and Kasur, and Upper Dir, Peshawar, Charsadda and other parts of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Six people were killed and 13 others wounded in different [rain-related] incidents,” the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a statement.
“The downpours partially damaged eight houses in the province,” it said, adding that relief goods were distributed among the affected people in Charsadda and Upper Dir.
In Punjab’s Gujranwala district, two children were killed and their father and another child injured after the roof of their house collapsed due to rain, the Express Tribune reported.
In Kasur district, six people were killed and 10 others wounded in similar incidents.
Late Friday, the South Asian nation met with a calamity as 22 stranded tourists froze to death in their vehicles during a snowstorm in Murree, 64 km (40 miles) northeast of the capital Islamabad.
Rescue efforts to get people and vehicles out of the resort town were still ongoing on Saturday evening.

14 killed as rains wreak havoc in Pakistan’s Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces