ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said on Monday the country’s next monsoon spell was expected from July 31 to August 6, warning of fresh risks of flash and urban flooding as well as landslides.
At least 133 people have died in weather-related incidents across Pakistan since June 24 when monsoon rains began. In one incident, at least 11 construction workers were killed when a wall collapsed on them during heavy monsoon rains on the outskirts of Islamabad last week. The workers, from a nearby construction site, were inside a makeshift tent set up under the wall to take shelter from the rain when the wall fell on them.
Landslides caused by rain hit several roads in the northern districts of Chitral, Dir and Battagram in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday. Authorities were trying to clear roads to restore traffic in the mountainous areas well into Monday.
Heavy rains have swollen three main rivers — the Jhelum, Sutlej and Chenab in eastern Punjab province — prompting the disaster management agency to be on high alert for more flash floods, which have already affected at least 15,000 people in the past three weeks.
“According to the Meteorological Department, the next monsoon spell will continue from July 31 to August 6, due to which the risk of flash and urban flooding, landslides is likely to remain,” NDMA said on Twitter. “Due to heavy rains, there is a risk of increasing water flow in rivers, flooding in rivers and inundation of low-lying areas.”
Monsoon rains have returned to Pakistan a year after devastating floods killed 1,739 people across the country and affected over 30 million people.
The monsoon season, which officially began on July 1, will continue until September in the South Asian country.
