Monsoon fury claims 18 more lives in Pakistan

Islamabad, July 24 Eighteen more people have lost their lives across Pakistan as torrential monsoon continues to batter several areas of the country, triggering devastating floods and storms.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a warning predicting continued rainfall across most parts of the country through July 25, leading Pakistani daily, The Express Tribune reports.

At least 13 people were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province, while 10-15 people were swept away in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) statement on Wednesday, among the 13 deceased in K-P province, nine are children, three women and one man.

In addition, three others, including two children and one woman, were injured due to rain-related incidents.

PDMA's preliminary damage report detailed that at least 19 houses sustained damage, with 17 partially damaged and two completely destroyed across the province.

The incidents occurred in several districts of the province, including Swat, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Upper Kohistan, Mardan, Kurram, Haripur, Mansehra, Upper Chitral, Malakand, and Shangla, local media reports stated.

Over the past 48 hours, the Swat district was the worst-affected as flash floods and the collapse of a house killed six children and one woman, and injured another woman and child.

Additionally, in Buner, three casualties were recorded due to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunder and lightning. A woman and her child died after being hit by lightning, while an eight-year-old boy was washed away during the heavy downpour. The dead body was later recovered by the PDMA.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Wednesday issued a nationwide alert on widespread rain, wind, and thundershowers, and warned of heavy to heavy rainfalls in several regions, raising concerns over potential flash floods, urban flooding, and landslides.

Heavy downpours have also raised fears of urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Okara, Nowshera, and Peshawar.

Meanwhile, heavy downpours early Wednesday morning submerged low-lying areas in Lahore and several other cities across Punjab province, hampering daily activities and electricity supply in multiple neighbourhoods.

Furthermore, rainfall also disrupted dozens of power feeders as water accumulated on major roads, severely affecting mobility and local infrastructure.

Relentless rainfall also lashed Lahore, inundating several underpasses and streets, crippling the drainage systems.

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