Monsoon rains, floods kill 50 across Pakistan in 2 weeks

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – At least 50 people, including 14 children, were killed and 87 others wounded in rain and flood-related incidents across Pakistan during the ongoing monsoon spell, which began on June 25, officials said Friday.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the majority of people were killed in the Punjab province followed by northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.

In its latest report, the NDMA said: “34 people, including 10 children and seven women, were killed in Punjab while 10 people, including four children and four women, were killed in the KP province.”

The authority said five people lost their lives in the Balochistan province while one was killed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Around 87 people, including 28 children and 27 women, were also wounded in flood-related incidents – roof, wall collapses, and electric shocks.

Over 60 houses were also damaged by the ongoing monsoon rains, according to the report.

On Wednesday, at least 11 people lost their lives when massive monsoon rains flanked by gusty winds lashed large swaths across Pakistan while inundating streets, and uprooting trees.

Eight deaths were reported in northeastern Punjab province, mainly provincial capital Lahore, which was hit by record-breaking rains.

Monsoon rains have long wreaked havoc on Pakistan in terms of both human casualties and the destruction of already fragile infrastructure. In recent years, climate change has further increased their frequency, ferocity, and unpredictability.

Last year, unprecedented rains and floods inundated a third of Pakistan, killing over 1,700 people, destroying hundreds of thousands of houses, schools, hospitals, roads, and bridges in Balochistan and Sindh, and causing whopping losses of over $30 billion.