Pakistan’s monsoon death toll has risen to 86 after five more rain-related deaths, four of them children, according to the latest National Disaster Management Authority data. Since the season began on June 26, rain-related incidents have also left 272 people injured across the country (Pakistan Today; The Nation).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded the highest number of fatalities at 51, followed by Punjab with 22, Azad Kashmir with seven and Balochistan with six.
House collapses remain the leading cause of death this season, a pattern the NDMA has flagged consistently since the toll stood at 38 in early July (The Express Tribune). Flash floods, lightning strikes and electrocution account for most of the remainder.
Beyond the human cost, the authority reports 387 houses damaged, 207 livestock animals killed and roughly 6.7 kilometres of road affected by flooding and heavy rain since the monsoon opened.
The NDMA and the Pakistan Meteorological Department have warned that a fresh spell of heavy rain running through Monday may cause urban flooding in low-lying areas and flash flooding in hill torrents. The warning lands two days before Azad Kashmir — which has recorded seven deaths this season — votes in the first phase of its Legislative Assembly elections.
The toll remains well below last season’s, when monsoon rains killed 242 people including at least 116 children (Arab News).
