Peshawar/Quetta: Lightning strikes and heavy rains have killed at least 44 people across Pakistan in the last three days, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Monday.
The downpours, which began on Friday, have damaged several homes across the South Asian country, with more showers expected in the coming days, according to the NDMA.
Punjab, Pakistan’s largest and most populous province, witnessed the highest death toll, with 21 people killed by lightning between Friday and Sunday.
“These casualties have been reported from across the country including Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB),” the NDMA said in a statement on Monday.
The downpours have damaged 37 houses in Balochistan, 15 in KP, and six in AJK, according to the statement. The flood situation was normal in Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and AJK. In KP, mid-level flood was reported in the Kabul river, while there was high flooding in the Swat river near Khwazakhela.
Meanwhile, the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) warned of medium to high flood in the Kabul river and its tributaries in the Nowshera district during the next 48 hours.
“Concerned agencies are requested to take necessary precautionary measures,” the PDMA urged.
In Balochistan, the provincial government has declared a rain and flood emergency in Quetta in view of continuous rain in the provincial capital since Friday, according to officials. Rescue and de-watering operations are underway in Quetta and other districts.
“Due to heavy rains, the Government of Balochistan has decided to close government and private schools for the next two days,” Shahid Rind, a provincial government spokesman, told reporters in Quetta.
Heavy rains and snowfall last week damaged hundreds of houses and bridges and shut off road and rail routes in several areas of Pakistan, especially in the northwestern KP province. The KP PDMA said it was in contact with the district administrations throughout the province and had instructed them to speed up relief operations.
On Monday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned that heavy rains, resulting from a westerly wave that was likely to persist till April 15, could cause floods in streams and rivers in Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galyat, Naran and Kaghan areas. It also warned that showers could cause landslides in areas surrounding the Kabul river.
Pakistan has been prone to natural disasters and consistently ranks among one of the most adversely affected countries due to the effects of climate change.
In March, heavy rains in Pakistan’s Balochistan triggered urban floods in Gwadar and Kech districts, destroying nearly 100 homes and killing at least five people.
In 2022, torrential monsoon rains triggered the most devastating floods in Pakistan’s history, killing around 1,700 people. Over 33 million people were affected by the floodwaters — a staggering number close to the population of Canada.
Millions of homes, tens of thousands of schools as well as thousands of kilometers of roads and railways still need to be rebuilt.
