Rain, floods kill 36 in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Peshawar - 27 injured after roofs of dozens of houses collapse.

At least 36 people were killed and 27 injured after heavy rain across northwest Pakistan caused the roofs of dozens of homes to collapse, officials said on Sunday.
The deaths were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during a downpour that began on Saturday night, a provincial disaster management agency spokesman said.
There is a fear that the death toll might increase, the spokesman said, adding that reports were still awaited from a few more remote areas.
The worst-hit area was Kohistan where 12 deaths were reported, followed by Shangla district where rains and landslides killed 10 people.
Poorly-built homes, particularly in rural areas, are most susceptible to collapse during the heavy rain.
Communication link has been disconnected due to torrential rain in Gilgit-Baltistan. Radio Pakistan quoted an official source as saying that heavy landsliding has damaged Karakorum Highway between Gilgit and Chilas.
There is no electricity for last 10 hours as a hydel project of 18 megawatt was damaged in Naltar Valley, the source said.
Four members of a family have been killed in Chilas and three injured when roof of their house collapsed in the Jichen area.
Meanwhile, according to the Gilgit-Baltistan metrological department, the province received 31mm of rain during the last 24 hours.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Sunday expressed his deep grief and sorrow over the loss of human lives in flash floods in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The prime minister has directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other authorities concerned to ensure timely relief activities for the victims, including provision of proper medical care, food and shelter for the affected.
The authorities were further directed to keep him updated on the situation, said a Press release issued by the Prime Minister's Office media wing.
Harsh weather hits the country every year, with hundreds killed and huge tracts of prime farmland destroyed in recent years.
During the rainy season last summer, torrential downpours and flooding killed 81 people and affected almost 300,000 people across the country. - AFP, APP