PESHAWAR: Torrential rains, cloudbursts and flash floods have wreaked havoc in the northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaving 386 people dead and causing an estimated Rs20 billion worth of damage to the province’s infrastructure, according to an initial assessment by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
The report, submitted to Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday, said 603 government buildings across 20 departments had been damaged. Battagram was the worst hit, with 214 government properties affected, followed by Swat (97), Bajaur (65) and Mansehra (58).
The calamity destroyed 37 schools, 83 roads and 10 bridges, while 226 irrigation channels and 68 water supply schemes were also damaged. The irrigation department suffered the highest losses at Rs10bn, followed by communication and works (Rs3bn), education (Rs1bn) and public health engineering (Rs210m).
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The PDMA report confirmed 386 fatalities and 182 injuries in rain- and floods related incidents, while 1,398 houses were damaged. Buner reported the highest casualties with 228 deaths, followed by Swabi with 41.
At a cabinet meeting chaired by the chief minister, officials briefed on ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts. The cabinet approved a Rs20bn grant for reconstruction of damaged infrastructure. Separately, the PDMA has released Rs1.29bn to deputy commissioners of 11 affected districts for relief and compensation.
The allocations include Rs700m for Buner, Rs200m for Shangla, Rs100m for Mansehra, Rs60m for Swabi, Rs50m for Bajaur, Rs40m each for Battagram and Swat, Rs30m for Lower Dir, and Rs10m each for Upper Kohistan, Lower Kohistan and Kolai Palas.
