Five of a family killed in roof collapse amid storm in Pakistan’s northwest

ISLAMABAD: Five people were killed after roof of their house collapsed amid a storm in parts of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, rescue officials said on Saturday, with the nationwide monsoon death toll exceeding 350.
The incident occurred in KP’s Charsadda district and the deceased included father, mother and their three children, according to a Rescue 1122 service spokesperson.
Rain-related incidents had killed at least 347 people across the country since the monsoon season began in July, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said last week.
The latest deaths took the countrywide monsoon death toll to 352, according to an Arab News tally.
“[KP] Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has expressed sorrow over the incident,” Gandapur’s office said in a statement, adding he had announced financial compensation for the bereaved relatives. “The chief minister directed concerned officials to do the needful in this regard.”
Weather authorities have forecast more rains in upper parts of Pakistan on Saturday, Pakistani state media reported.
“Rain-windstorm/thundershower is expected in upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Pothohar region, northeast/upper Punjab and Kashmir during the next twelve hours,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster said.
“Partly cloudy weather with rain-windstorm and thundershower may also occur at isolated places in lower Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, north Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan.”
Pakistan has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns in recent years that scientists have blamed on climate change. This year, the South Asian country recorded its “wettest April since 1961,” with 59.3 millimeters of rainfall, while some areas of the country faced deadly heat waves in May and June.
In 2022, unusually heavy rains triggered floods in many parts of the country, killing over 1,700 people, inflicting economic losses of around $30 billion, and affecting at least 30 million people.