ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is likely to witness more floods as a fresh rainy spell is likely to continue till July 25, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Monday, with the number of monsoon-related deaths rising to 221 since late June.

Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province has reported the highest number of deaths at 135, followed by 46 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 22 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan, and one each in the federal capital of Islamabad and Azad Kashmir.

The deceased included 104 children, 77 men and 40 women, according to a latest situation report shared by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

“Heavy rains may generate flash floods in local streams of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Hill torrents of DG Khan, Northeast Punjab and Kashmir from July 21-25,” the PMD said on Monday.

“Heavy Downpour may cause urban floods in low-lying areas of Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Okara, Nowshera and Peshawar.”

During this period, landslides and mudslides may block roads in vulnerable areas of Murree, Galliyat, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, according to the PMD. Heavy rains, windstorms and lightning could also damage weak structures, electric poles, billboards, vehicles and solar panels.

Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.

The annual rains are vital for agriculture and food security, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers. But increasingly erratic and extreme weather patterns are turning the rains into a destructive force.

In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains combined with glacial melt submerged nearly a third of Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing over 8 million. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.