ISLAMABAD: At least 63 people have lost their lives and 87 were injured owing to flash floods triggered by pre-monsoon rains across the country since June 26, official data released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) revealed.
According to the NDMA, owing to the various rain-related incidents over the past 10 days, 62 houses were also damaged of which 59 were partially and three were fully destroyed.
Moreover, 15 livestock also died owing to the flooding. At least eight children died owing to a landslide in district Shangla of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday evening.
Eight killed as ‘record-breaking’ rain lashes Lahore
Meanwhile, five people of a family lost their lives during a road accident in Deosai area of District Skardu of Gilgit-Baltistan region on Friday.
According to official data, at least 11 people died including three men, four women, and four children on Thursday owing to multiple rain-related incidents across the country while another 15 including two men, nine women, and four children were injured.
According to the NDMA data, the majority of the deaths are reported in Punjab and are mainly caused by electrocution and building collapses. In Punjab, a total of 34 people including 17 men, seven women, and 10 children have lost their lives, while another 45 people including 17 men, 19 women, and nine children have sustained injuries. Moreover, 18 houses are also damaged in Punjab and one livestock was lost.
So far 10 people including two men, four women, and four children have lost their lives in KP province. Moreover, a total of 34 people including 10 men, six women, and 18 children have sustained injuries in various rain-related incidents in KPK. In KPK, a total of 43 houses of which 41 were partially and two were fully damaged while 14 livestock were killed owing to floods.
In Balochistan province, a total of five people including four men and one woman lost their lives, wherein, eight people including five men, two women, and one child sustained injuries.
Moreover, a house was partially damaged in Balochistan. The authorities have reported one death in Azad Jammu and Kashmir region.
The Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) has predicted more rains during the next two days across the country. According to officials, recently Lahore has received record-breaking rainfall of the past 30 years, turning roads into rivers and leaving almost 35 percent of the residents without electricity and water.
Last year, unprecedented monsoon rains hit a third of Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people, injuring thousands, destroying over two million houses, and killing millions of livestock.
Pakistan, a country with the fifth largest global population, is contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for the serious climate situation but is one of the most vulnerable countries to the extreme weather caused by global warming.
Owing to 2022 flooding, serious damages were caused to the standing crops in Pakistan as a result, food, vegetables, and fruit prices witnessed an unprecedented increase. That also forced the government to import wheat, vegetables, and fruits as a result serious pressure was built on the depleting foreign exchange reserves of the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023