PESHAWAR: Four people were killed while 31 were wounded in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province during the last 24 hours, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said on Thursday, as the South Asian country braces for more downpours expected during the ongoing monsoon season. 

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has warned that several parts of the country, including KP province, will face landslides and flash floods due to heavy monsoon rains this month. 

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change effects. Large swathes of the South Asian nation were submerged in 2022 due to extremely heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers, a phenomenon linked to climate change that damaged crops and infrastructure and killed at least 1,700 people, displaced millions and inflicted billions of dollars in losses.

PDMA KP Spokesperson Anwar Shehzad said the province’s Bannu, Battagram and North Waziristan districts reported deaths and injuries during the last 24 hours after heavy rains lashed these areas. 

“Heavy rains, thunderstorms and lightning caused roof collapse in the three districts,” he said, adding that the four dead included two men, a woman and a child while the 31 injured included seven men, ten women and 14 children.

“Five houses have also been damaged during the heavy downpours,” he added. 

Earlier, the PDMA issued a separate statement saying that the authority, district administrations and relief teams were engaged in relief activities in KP’s affected districts.

“The PDMA has also directed district administrations of the affected districts to provide immediate financial support to the victims,” the authority said. 

Earlier in April, heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods in Pakistan, leaving 92 people dead and another 116 wounded. Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab also reported 21 deaths from lightning and roof collapses while the country’s southwestern Balochistan province reported at least 15 deaths from torrential rains.

Last week, the NDMA launched a community engagement app for Pakistanis ahead of the monsoon season. The ‘Pak NDMA Disaster Alert’ mobile app will generate alerts and update guidance for organizations and individual responders in national and provincial languages, Pakistan’s state media had said. 

It said the alerts would help people and responders implement disaster management plans, keeping them ahead of the crises before they strike.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a high-level committee last week to deal with potential emergencies of the upcoming monsoon season. He stressed integrating advanced monsoon information into national broadcasts, emphasizing the importance of regular dissemination of weather updates to farmers and people living in areas vulnerable to floods.

The premier also said that farmers and residents living near rivers and canals should be updated daily through the media and other information sources about emergency situations.