ISLAMABAD: At least five persons were killed and 23 injured in rain-related in Pakistan’s Punjab province in the last 24 hours, a rescue official said on Friday.
Heavy rains and windstorm hit Punjab on Thursday, with incidents of electrocution, lightning strikes, wall and roof collapses reported in several districts in the eastern Pakistani province.
Two people died in lightning strikes in Narowal, one man was killed after a tree fell on him in Gujranwala, and two others were killed in similar incidents in Lahore, according to Punjab Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmed.
“Seriously injured persons were immediately transferred to nearby hospitals during rescue operation,” the Rescue 1122 spokesperson said in a statement.
Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change and has faced increasingly frequent extreme weather events, including heavy rains, floods, heatwaves, cyclones and droughts, in recent years.
Torrential rains battered several parts of Pakistan in late March and early April, with the nationwide death toll in rain-related incidents crossing 80.
At least 1,000 people were killed last year when intense monsoon rains, combined with excess water released from Indian dams, triggered flash floods across the country.
