At least 45 people were killed and 200 injured on Monday, April 27, as a freak ‘mini-cyclone’ tore through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, uprooting trees and collapsing buildings.
“We’ve never experienced such a devastating wind storm before in this region,” said Mushtaq Shah, director general of the Meteorological Office in Peshawar.
The PDMA official said 25 people died in Peshawar, 8 in Charsadda and and five in Nowshera districts besides severely damaging road and electricity infrastructure. Several children are also among the injured who have been rushed to hospitals.
Army rescue teams have reached the rain-affected areas of Peshawar and started relief operations. So far, 45 people have been killed and about 200 injured due to collapsing of houses and other rain-related accidents, provincial information minister Mushtaq Ghani said.
An emergency was declared at all local hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Ghani said. A local disaster management official said the winds reached up to 110 kph.
All flight operations at Peshawar airport were suspended because more rain is expected overnight.
Rescuers rushed victims to hospitals even as submerged roads hindered their operations. Ambulances and rescue vehicles also had trouble entering some areas due to fallen trees and electric poles.