ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s monsoon death toll rose to 97 after 11 more people were killed in rain-related incidents over the past 24 hours, disaster authorities said on Saturday, as forecasters warned that widespread rain and isolated heavy falls would continue across much of the country over the next two days.
The latest fatalities came after a fresh monsoon spell swept across Punjab on Friday, making it the worst-hit province during the latest reporting period with seven deaths, while the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warned of continued heavy rainfall that could aggravate flooding risks in several areas.
“Widespread rain-wind/thunderstorm with isolated heavy falls is expected over Islamabad and Kashmir,” the PMD’s Flood Forecasting Division said in its daily bulletin, adding that these conditions were expected over parts of the country during the next 24 to 48 hours.
The forecast covers large parts of Punjab, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Jhelum, Kasur, Sialkot, Sheikhupura, Sargodha and Chiniot, among other districts.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority’s latest situation report, the nationwide death toll since the start of the monsoon season on June 26 has reached 97, while 297 people have been injured.
Most of the latest deaths in Punjab were caused by house collapses, with fatalities reported in Lahore, Kasur and Chiniot, while one person drowned in Gujranwala, according to the NDMA.
For the season as a whole, house collapses have accounted for more than half of all deaths, followed by flash floods, lightning and drowning.
The Flood Forecasting Division said the Chenab River was flowing at medium flood level at Khanki and Qadirabad, while all other major rivers remained at low or below-low levels.
It warned of flash flooding in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan and pluvial flooding in southeastern Sindh over the next 24 to 36 hours.
The weather system is being driven by a combination of a westerly wave over northwestern Pakistan, a seasonal low-pressure area over northwest Balochistan and moist currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, the PMD said.
