ISLAMABAD: The Meteorological Department said on Friday Pakistan would be hit with more rains next week which could trigger flash flooding in several regions, including the financial hub of Karachi, as the death toll from rains and floods across the country reached 549 since mid-June.
People wade across a flooded street after heavy monsoon rainfall in Karachi, Pakistan, on July 25, 2022. (AFP/File)
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan, the country received 133 percent more rainfall this monsoon season than the 30-year average.
“Met Office informed that monsoon currents are continuously penetrating in the country likely to become stronger from 10th August (Wednesday),” the Met Department said in a statement on Friday.
“Heavy Rains may generate urban flooding in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Faisalabad, Lahore and Gujranwala on 08th and from 10th to 12th August,” the statement said. "Flash flooding is expected in local Nullahs of Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Shakargarh, Sialkot, Narowal, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Dir, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Kashmir on 08th and from 10th to 12th August."
The statement said heavy eains could generate urban flooding in Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Dadu, Jamshoro, Sukkur, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Mirpurkhas between August 11-13. Rainfall can also trigger landslides in Kashmir, hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Galiyat, Murree, Chillas, Diamir, Gilgit, Hunza, Astore, Ghizer and Skardu during the forecast period, the notice said.
“Travelers and tourists are advised to remain more cautious during the forecast period,” it added.
Rescue workers help villagers evacuate from floods after heavy rains in Lasbella, a district in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province, on July 26, 2022. (AP/File)
On Monday, a Pakistani military helicopter carrying a top general and five others crashed on a mountain during a flood relief operation and all on board were killed. The helicopter was helping with flood relief work in Balochistan province, which has been worst hit by rains and flooding, with 164 dead.
“133 percent more rainfall across the country than the 30-year average record,” NDMA said on Twitter on Friday, reporting 305 percent more rains in Balochistan, 218 percent in Sindh, 101 percent in Punjab, 26 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 68 percent in Gilgit-Baltistan and 9 percent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
It said 11 more people had died in floods and rains in Pakistan in the last 24 hours.
“The total number of deaths due to floods/rains across the country is 549 while the number of injured is 628,” NDMA said. “46,219 houses were damaged due to floods and rains.”
Heavy rains have lashed the country since June, leaving large swathes of Pakistan inundated with water and thousands of people homeless.
In 2010, the worst floods in memory affected 20 million people in Pakistan, with damage to infrastructure running into billions of dollars and huge swathes of crops destroyed as one fifth of the country was inundated.
