PESHAWAR: Authorities in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province warned on Friday of a fresh spell of rain, thunderstorms and strong winds from Aug. 29 to Sept. 5, raising risks of urban flooding and landslides as the nationwide monsoon death toll reached 175.
The warning comes as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains the country’s deadliest province in the current monsoon season, with 70 people killed and 96 injured since June 26, according to the latest National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) situation report.
“Rain, thunderstorms and strong winds are expected in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Aug. 29 to Sept. 5,” the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in an advisory.
“Heavy rains may trigger landslides in vulnerable areas of the upper districts, while low-lying areas of Mardan and Swabi face the risk of urban flooding from Aug. 31 to Sept. 5,” it added. “Strong winds and lightning may also damage vulnerable structures, electricity poles, billboards and crops.”
The PDMA forecast rain in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur and Kohistan, as well as Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Khyber and Mohmand.
It said rain was also expected from Sept. 1 to Sept. 4 in Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Waziristan.
The authority urged district administrations and relevant agencies to take precautionary measures and remain on alert, while advising tourists and travelers to avoid unnecessary journeys during adverse weather.
The PDMA said authorities were monitoring the situation around the clock.
The fresh weather warning comes amid a monsoon season that has killed 175 people and injured 500 across Pakistan between June 26 and Aug. 28, according to NDMA data.
House collapses have been the leading cause of death, accounting for 48.6 percent of fatalities, followed by drowning at 17.7 percent and flash floods at 14.9 percent, according to the NDMA report.
Pakistan’s annual monsoon season brings much of the rainfall needed for agriculture and water supplies but also routinely causes flash floods, landslides and building collapses, particularly in mountainous and poorly drained areas.
