ISLAMABAD, 25 July — Rain disrupted relief and rescue operations yesterday in parts of northern Pakistan devastated by record downpours that killed at least 232 people. Weather officials said they expected “moderate intensity” rain in northern Pakistan but heavy downpours in upper Punjab province, mainly in the area of Lahore.

They said 90 mm (3.5 inches) of rain had fallen on Lahore in three hours up to 1:00 p.m. (0800 GMT) bringing life to a standstill in some areas and causing walls to collapse in nearby villages, though there was no immediate report of casualties.

Traffic in the Punjab capital of Lahore was in chaos with roads flooded and the drainage system choked. Pakistan Television showed pictures of several devastated northern villages.

Weather officials had warned earlier this month of heavier than normal monsoon rains after almost three years of drought in Pakistan.

Officials in the town of Manshera in the North West Frontier Province said 65 people were killed and more than 100 injured on Monday when a hillside village of more than 40 houses was swept away by a mudslide caused by the heavy rain.

“Nine people are still missing,” a police officer said by telephone. “Relief work is going on...but it’s still raining and work is not easy,” he said.

The village destroyed by the landslide, Dadar, is 95 km (60 miles) north of Islamabad, and in an area prone to landslides near the town of Shinkiari on the Karakoram Highway.

Officials in Buner, another district in the Swat Valley in the province, where 30 people were killed by flash floods, lightning and in collapsed houses, said it was very difficult to get supplies to affected villages because of the rain and the remoteness of the area. “Access is difficult and it has rained all night and is still raining here,” the official said.

Rescue workers in Islamabad said hundreds of people were homeless after the rain destroyed their mud houses. “We cannot give an exact figure but all the mud settlements have disappeared,” a rescue official said.