Landslides and flash floods caused by torrential rains have killed at least 14 people, including four children, living in tents in earthquake devastated areas of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP), police said on Thursday.
Ten people were killed during early morning prayers when a mudslide hit their tents at the foot of a mountain in Dadar Kadim, about 27km from Mansehra town, police officer Fayyaz Ahmed said.
”Their bodies have been recovered. But the mountain slopes remain unstable due to the rains and the danger of more mudslides is always there in these areas,” he said.
In Allai valley in Batagram district, four people were killed and six others were missing after floods washed away their shelters, according to police officer Abdul Karim.
In the last two weeks, over 65 people have been killed in Pakistani Kashmir and NWFP by landslides and flash floods caused by the monsoon rains.
Tens of thousands of people are still living in tents and tin shelters in Muzaffarabad, in Pakistani Kashmir, and Balakot in the Mansehra district after the October 8 quake that killed 75 000 people and left about three million homeless.
Fayyaz said the local authorities had been warning people living in tents in the mountains to come down to flatter areas because of the rains.
Officials in Muzaffarabad said although no casualties had been reported on Thursday, the Neelum valley road was blocked due to landslides and river levels were also very high. — Reuters