Rain, flash floods kill 40, including 18 children, across Pakistan

PESHAWAR/LAHORE/QUETTA: Heavy rain and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 40 people, including 18 children, since the start of the monsoon season this week, disaster management officials said.

Flash floods and roof collapses over the past 36 hours have claimed the lives of 19 people, eight of them children, a statement Saturday by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial disaster management authority said. Of the total fatalities, 13 were reported from northwestern Swat Valley.

At least 15 people have also been killed in Punjab since Wednesday, the area’s disaster management au-thority said. Eight of the fatalities were children, who died when walls and roofs collapsed during heavy rain.

Also, six deaths and seven injured in rain related incidents were reported from Karachi.

Flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also damaged 56 houses, six of which were destroyed, the disaster authority said.

The national meteorological service warned that the risk of heavy rain and possible flash floods will remain high until at least Tuesday.

Meanwhile, National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC) of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued impact-based weather alerts for multiple regions of Pakistan, warning of heavy rainfall, urban flooding, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and associated hazards over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Meanwhile, at least 15 people lost their lives while 35 others sustained injuries in various rain-rel