ISLAMABAD:
Flash floods and heavy rain in have killed 64 people and injured 117 in a week across the country, a government agency said Wednesday.
The highest toll was in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with 23 dead including 10 children, the National Disaster Management Authority said.
Fourteen of the victims were swept away in a flash flood in the Swat Valley last week, local media reported.
Flash floods and homes collapsing in heavy rain killed 21 others in the eastern province of Punjab, including 11 children, the authority said.
In Sindh, 15 were killed, while five people died in southwestern Balochistan.
Meanwhile, the PMD on Wednesday has forecast a significant intensification of monsoon activity across the country beginning from the evening of July 5, with widespread rain, thunderstorms and the possibility of flash floods and urban flooding in several regions.
According to the Met Office, moist monsoon currents were continuously penetrating the country and will likely strengthen over the weekend.
A westerly wave was also expected to approach the upper parts of Pakistan on July 06, further enhancing the rainfall.
As per the regional forecast highlights, rain-wind/thunderstorms with scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall are expected from July 5-10 in multiple areas including Muzaffarabad, Neelum Valley, Rawalakot, Swat, Dir, Malakand, Kohistan, Chitral, and others.
G-B regions like Skardu, Hunza, Gilgit, and Astore may also experience similar conditions from July 6 to 10.
In Punjab and Islamabad, widespread rain and thunderstorms with heavy falls are expected from July 5-10 in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and several other districts. Southern Punjab regions including Multan, Bahawalpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan will receive rain between July 06-08.
About Sindh and Balochistan, the PMD forecast that rain-thunderstorms are likely in southern and northeastern Balochistan including Loralai, Khuzdar, and Lasbella from July 03-04 and again from July 06-08.
Sindh regions such as Karachi, Hyderabad, Tharparkar and Sukkur may experience moderate rainfall during July 3-4, with chances of isolated heavy falls in southeastern parts.
As per possible impacts and public advisory, heavy to very heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs and streams of Murree, Galliyat, Manshera, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan, northeast Punjab, Kashmir, and parts of Balochistan from the night of July 05-08.
Heavy downpours may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lahore, Sialkot, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Nowshera, and Peshawar from July 06-08. (With input from AFP)
