ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s monsoon death toll since June 26 has surged past 160, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a report this week, as heavy rains continue to lash northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, killing people and triggering building collapses.
Heavy rains in Pakistan, since the start of the monsoon season on June 26, have killed 161 people and injured 483 others. KP has reported the highest number of casualties, 67, followed by 54 in Punjab, 16 in Sindh, 13 in Azad Kashmir, eight in Balochistan, two in Islamabad and one casualty in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
Heavy rains in the northwestern Swabi district triggered building collapses at several locations, prompting Rescue 1122 Swabi teams to respond promptly and complete rescue operations, the emergency relief service said.
“Rescue teams rescued two people alive, while two people were killed,” Rescue 1122 service said on Thursday.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that monsoon currents are penetrating upper parts of the country and are likely to continue in the coming days. It said that a westerly wave is likely to enter into the upper parts of the country from August 17 and remain till 21.
Under the influence of this weather system, the PMD said heavy rains are likely in Azad Kashmir, KP, GB and some areas of the southwestern Balochistan province, namely Musakhel, Barkhan, Zhob, Kalat and Khuzdar districts.
Pakistan is among the countries considered most vulnerable to climate change and has experienced increasingly erratic weather in recent years, with more frequent heatwaves, droughts and extreme monsoon rainfall.
In 2025, above-average monsoon rains and flooding killed more than 1,000 people and caused widespread damage to homes, roads, agricultural land and public infrastructure, with Punjab among the hardest-hit provinces.
In 2022, record monsoon rains and glacial melt triggered catastrophic floods that killed more than 1,700 people, affected over 33 million people and caused an estimated $30 billion in economic losses, making it one of Pakistan’s worst natural disasters.
