Massive rains, flash floods kill another 15 in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

Heavy rains along with flash floods and windstorms claimed 15 more lives across Pakistan over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll since June 1 to nearly 100, authorities and local media reported on Saturday.

Torrential downpours struck almost the entire country, including the Islamabad-controlled part of the divided Kashmir valley, triggering landslides and flashfloods, and washing away bridges, houses, and animals, mainly in the southwestern Balochistan province and northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, said the National Disaster Management Authority.

Most of the deaths were reported in the commercial capital Karachi, where at least seven people lost their lives in rain-related accidents in the last 24 hours.

Footage on local TV channels showed pedestrians and motorbikes wading through washed-out streets and roads, while four-wheelers were stranded in rainwaters.

Lightning and roof crashes killed eight people in various parts of northeastern Punjab and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, local broadcaster Geo News reported.

The ongoing monsoon spell, which began in early June, has so far killed 98 people across Pakistan, according to official tallies.

Monsoon rains have long wreaked havoc on Pakistan in terms of both human casualties and the destruction of already fragile infrastructure. In recent years climate change has further increased their frequency, ferocity, and unpredictability.

The country has received 87% more rain this monsoon season so far compared to past year’s, according to the Environment and Climate Change Ministry.