Islamabad: Sixty-seven people died and 125 others injured in separate rain-related accidents in Pakistan since the start of the pre-monsoon season in the country, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan said on Saturday.
The countrys east Punjab province was worst hit in the rains with 43 fatalities and 82 injuries, the NDMA said, adding that 31 houses were also destroyed in the heavy rains that lashed the province, including the provincial capital of Lahore.
The Lahores rains, which were called record-breaking by the countrys caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, caused urban flooding in the city, inundating several areas and disrupting road traffic for hours.
According to figures released by the Water and Sanitation Agency, up to 291 millimeters of rainfall was recorded in parts of the city on July 4, causing several incidents of electrocution and house collapse.
Separately, Lahore Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa said that torrential rains of this intensity were not received in the city for the last 30 years.
A total of 18 people were killed and 35 others injured in separate rain-related accidents in the countrys northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the NDMA said.
The torrential rains also damaged 44 houses and perished 14 livestock in the province, the authority added.
Five people were killed and eight others injured in southwest Balochistan province, and one was killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir due to heavy rains, the NDMA figures showed.
Flash flood is expected in the hill torrents of some areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whereas high to very high-level flooding is expected in two rivers of the country on July 9, the Pakistan meteorological department said.
(With UNI inputs)
