Pakistan: Over 50 killed due to heavy rain and flash floods

Islamabad, July 1 (IANS) Over 50 people have been killed in Pakistan over the last few days due to heavy rains and flash floods, with the highest toll reported from the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 21 people lost their lives, including 10 children, local media reported on Tuesday.

In Balochistan, heavy rains have wreaked havoc in several districts of the province, including Lasbela, Hub, Barkhan, Zhob, Harnai and Dera Bugti, as five people have died and six others have been injured over the past two days in incidents of being swept away by floodwaters and drowning in dams.

Reports suggest that four members of the same family, including three women and a child, were killed after being carried away by flash floods in Zhob.

Following the tragic incident, local people have called for effective disaster management systems, early warning mechanisms, and safe tourism protocols, particularly in remote and flood-prone areas like Zhob.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) also reported that in Balochistan, agricultural land and residential houses were severely damaged due to monsoons and heavy rains, with 10 houses collapsing in Khuzdar and two buildings, including a school, collapsing in Ziarat.

Additionally, heavy rains also partially damaged two bridges in the Quetta and Lasbela districts of the province

The Meteorological Department has forecast another spell of monsoon beginning July 4, with rainfall expected to exceed the normal level this season.

Pakistan’s National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) has issued several impact-based weather alerts anticipating widespread rain-wind and thundershowers, along with isolated heavy downpours, across various regions of Pakistan from Sunday to Saturday.

This could also trigger urban flooding in low-lying areas of Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, especially in the cities of Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, and Kohat.

Furthermore, in southern Sindh, heavy to very heavy rainfall was predicted, which would impact Hyderabad, Badin, Thatta, and Karachi from June 29 to July 5.

According to the Swat administrative authorities, flash floods in the river have left 73 people trapped across multiple locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

They also confirmed that 17 of the two tourist families died after 18 of them were carried away by flash floods on Friday in the Swat River.

The incident occurred in the Fizagat area, where the members of two families were having breakfast near the riverbank when a sudden rise in the water level swept away many of them, local media reported.

The victims were residents of Punjab province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

--IANS

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