KARACHI: At least 32 people have been killed in four provinces over the past two days as heavy rains triggered flash floods and damaged houses, according to rescue officials and disaster management authorities.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two more casualties were reported on Saturday, a day after 17 people lost their lives in rain-related accidents.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), one person each was killed in Charsadda and Shangla.
The NDMA reported that one person drowned in the river in Charsadda as continuous rainfall in the upper catchment area increased the flow downstream. His body was recovered near the Shahi Kaly Tranab by Rescue 1122 officials.
In Shangla, heavy rain triggered a landslide in Dhok area, killing a woman named Jan Ferroza.
The PDMA’s report stated that a total of 56 houses were damaged due to the rain, with 50 partially damaged and six completely collapsed.
Punjab
In Punjab, five people, including three minors, lost their lives and 20 were injured on Saturday.
Punjab Rescue spokesperson
Farooq Ahmad said most of the deaths occurred due to roof collapses. In Lahore, two minors died and four others injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Shahdra.
In Attock, a woman died after falling into a drain. In Faisalabad, four-year-old Umme Hania was killed and two injured when the roof of a house collapsed in Roshan Wali Jheel at Sumandari Road.
Four people were injured in similar accidents in Kothi Jhanda Singh and Peoples Colony.
In Gujranwala, a 55- year-old man was killed by a collapsed wooden roof.
Similar accidents in Alipur tehsil of Muzaffargarh, Sheikhupura, Okara and Hafizabad left eight people injured.
In Hafizabad, one person was injured after being electrocuted.
All the injured were shifted to hospitals where they were said to be stable.
Balochistan
In Zhob, four members of a family, including three women and a girl, were swept away in a flash flood on Saturday.
Officials said the victims were a family coming from Quetta to Multan via the Quetta-Zhob-Islamabad highway.
They stopped at a picnic point in Salyazah to take some rest when a huge flash flood suddenly hit the area due to heavy rainfall in the mountainous areas of Zhob and Sherani.
“Six members of the family were swept away in the flash flood,” said Naveed Alam, the Zhob assistant commissioner.
He added that Levies and rescue officials managed to save a woman and the driver, but four others drowned in the gushing water.
“The bodies of the victims were sent to their native area of Multan along with the injured woman and driver,” a senior Levies official told Dawn.
In Khost, Harnai, the local administration and rescue teams saved three persons who got stuck in a heavy flood.
Sindh
In Karachi, four people lost their lives in two separate accidents on Saturday.
According to officials, two of them were killed when a roof collapsed in Lyari while two others died of electrocution.
More rainfall
Heavy rainfall continued across the country on Saturday, with the prediction for similar weather over the next few days.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued alerts for glacial lake outburst floods (Glof), urban flooding, and flash floods across various regions of Pakistan over the next 24 to 48 hours.
In Balochistan, heavy rains inundated areas around Koh-i-Suleman, Zhob, Sherani, Barkhan, Qila Saifullah, Musakhel, Kohlu, Dera Bugti, Khuzdar, Kalat, Qila Abdullah and Chaman.
In KP, the Met Department has forecast rainfall in Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Malakand, Bajaur, Shangla, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Buner, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, Orakzai, Waziristan, Kohat, Karak and Hangu on Sunday.
In Punjab, the maximum rainfall on Saturday was recorded in Attock (102mm). The reading in Lahore was 62mm, Chakwal 32mm, Bahawalpur 3mm, Narowal and Noorpur Thal 2mm and Kasur 1mm.
The first spell of monsoon rains in Punjab will continue till July 1, the PDMA said earlier this week.
Disaster alert
The NDMA has warned that intense rainfall and above-normal temperatures have increased the likelihood of Glof events in northern districts KP, including Upper Dir, Chitral, Swat, Reshun, Booni, Brep, Sardar Gol, Arkari, Dir Gol, Thalu 1 and 2 and Kumrat Valley.
A statement by the NDMA said these areas were at risk of Glof and sudden flash floods which could damage roads and infrastructure and disrupt public mobility.
Similarly, isolated rain and thunderstorms were expected in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Karak, Kohat, Kohistan, Khyber, Kurram, Mohmand, Nowshera, Malakand, Charsadda, Bannu, Buner, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi, and Waziristan.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, rapid glacier and snow melt combined with rain had escalated the risk of Glof in high-altitude valleys such as Badswat, Hinarchi, Tursat Hundur, Darkut, and Ishkoman. Rainfall was also likely in Hunza, Skardu, Astore, Chilas, and adjoining regions.
The Glof events could increase the water level in rivers and trigger flash floods.
In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, rainfall is expected in Neelum Valley, Bagh, Kotli, Rawalakot, Muzaffarabad and Haveli.
In Punjab, widespread rain and thunderstorms were forecast in Murree, Galiyat, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Mianwali, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Khushab, Sargodha, Narowal, Chiniot, Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, Lahore and Okara.
Islamabad will also witness the same weather conditions in the next 24 to 48 hours.
In Balochistan, rainfall is expected in Quetta, Zhob, Loralai, Ziarat, Kalat, Musakhel, Khuzdar, Awaran, Barkhan, Jaffarabad, Kohlu, Sibi and Dera Bugti.
In Sindh, widespread rain and thunderstorms were likely in Jacobabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Nawabshah, Khairpur, Kashmore, Hyderabad, Tharparkar, Mirpur Khas, Umerkot, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Thatta, Badin and Karachi.
The NDMA has urged all provincial and district administrations to remain on high alert to deal with all emergencies.
