At least 76 people, including 31 children, have been killed in weather-related incidents triggered by heavy monsoon rains that have lashed Pakistan for two weeks, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) says.
“Seventy six deaths have been reported in different rain-related incidents all over Pakistan since the start of the monsoon on June 25,” NDMA officials said, adding that 133 people were injured during the same period.
The majority of the deaths were in the eastern province of Punjab, and were mainly due to electrocution and building collapses, official data showed.
Since Wednesday, 19 people have died in the city due to collapsing roofs and electrocution, officials said. Weather forecast agency warned of more rain in the coming days and warned of potential flooding in the catchment areas of Punjab’s major rivers, Jhelum and Chenab.
Heavy rains were also reported from other areas of the province as the rivers overflowed, prompting the authorities to be on high alert for fear of flash floods. Punjab’s disaster management authority said it was working to relocate people living along the waterways.
The rains have returned to Pakistan a year after the climate-induced downpour swelled rivers and inundated one-third of the country, killing more than 1,700 people.
The unprecedented floods also caused $30bn in damages in the cash-strapped country.
The summer monsoon brings to South Asia between 70 and 80 percent of its annual rainfall between June and September every year.
The rainy season is vital for the livelihoods of millions of farmers and food security in a region of about two billion people – but it also brings landslides and floods.
Pakistan, which has the world’s fifth largest population, is responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to officials.
However, it is one of the most vulnerable nations to the extreme weather caused by global warming.
