ISLAMABAD: At least 150 people have been killed and 233 injured in rain-related incidents across Pakistan since June 25, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Wednesday, as the South Asian country continues to reel from heavy monsoon rains that have triggered landslides and flooding.
Unusually heavy rains and melting glaciers last year wreaked havoc across Pakistan, killing over 1,700 people and destroying large amounts of crops and critical infrastructure. Already reeling from an economic crisis, Pakistan had estimated damages from the floods to be around $30 billion.
Pakistan, which ranks high among the list of countries that are impacted by climate change disasters, has received heavy monsoon rains this year, causing its rivers in the eastern Punjab province to rise to dangerous levels, forcing authorities to relocate people in low-lying areas to safer ones. The NDMA said on Tuesday heavy monsoon rains would lash various areas of the country in the next 48 to 72 hours.
"The threat of flash floods, seasonal flooding, and landslides will remain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir," the disaster management authority said on Twitter.
In its daily situation report, the NDMA said cumulative deaths from rain-related incidents have reached 150 across Pakistan since June 25, with Punjab reporting the largest number of deaths at 66, followed by KP with 41 casualties, Sindh with 15 deaths, and Islamabad reporting 11 dead.
Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province and Azad Kashmir reported six deaths each while the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region has reported five deaths since June 25.
The South Asian country reported 12 deaths and 10 injuries from rain-related incidents over the past 24 hours, the NDMA report said, with KP reporting the highest figure of six across all provinces.
At least 468 houses have been partially and fully damaged across Pakistan, with the highest number reported in KP at 184.
