Pakistan: 187 killed, 333 injured in monsoon rains & flash floods

Torrential rains and flash floods starting in July have killed 187 people and injured 333 others in different parts of Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has reported.

Ninety-six children and 30 women were among the dead, the NDMA said in a report, Xinhua news agency reported.

The eastern Punjab province was the worst affected area with 68 deaths, followed by the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southern Sindh provinces with 65 and 32 deaths, respectively, according to the report.

It added that 13 people were killed in the southwestern Balochistan province, five were killed in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and four died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The NDMA also noted that 352 livestock animals have perished while 2,293 houses and 30 bridges were damaged during the cited period.

According to media reports, the NDMA alert said that multiple cities including Lahore, Sialkot, and Narowal are particularly at risk of urban flooding from heavy downpours over the next 24 to 48 hours and a medium to high-level flood surge was also expected in the Chenab River.

The NDMA officials have also indicated that Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur, and Multan may face urban flooding, with a heightened risk of flash floods in the mountainous streams of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

Flash floods also affected the traffic on the Pak-Afghan Highway in Landikotal tehsil of Khyber district.

Meanwhile, various districts of Balochistan have been hit by torrential rains. Flash floods have entered homes and shops and the communication system has been disrupted. The northeastern region of Balochistan, including Chaman, is under the influence of a powerful weather system.