Pakistan’s monsoon death toll has risen to 97, with 297 people injured, after eleven deaths and 25 injuries in rain-related incidents over 24 hours, according to the National Disaster Management Authority’s latest situation report (Xinhua; Pakistan Today; Aaj English TV).
Seven of those deaths were in Punjab, where heavy rain also left 20 people injured. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority recorded 14 rain-related incidents up to 2pm on Saturday across Lahore, Kasur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Bahawalnagar, Narowal, Sialkot, Nankana Sahib, Sheikhupura and Okara, with the casualties caused mainly by roof collapses and drowning. Two children were among the dead (Dawn). The remaining deaths in the same 24-hour period were two in Sindh and one each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan (Xinhua).
The toll has moved quickly. The authority put it at 72 on July 22, 81 on July 24 and 86 on July 25 — a rise of 25 deaths in four days (Pakistan Today; The Nation; Dunya News).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains the worst-affected province with 52 deaths, followed by Punjab with 29, Azad Jammu and Kashmir with seven, Balochistan with six, Sindh with two and Gilgit-Baltistan with one. Of the 97 dead, 43 were children, 33 men and 21 women (Xinhua).
House collapses continue to be the single leading cause of death this season, ahead of flash floods, lightning strikes and electrocution. The authority also reports 447 houses damaged and 269 livestock animals killed since the monsoon opened on June 26 (Xinhua).
The Pakistan Meteorological Department forecasts widespread rain, wind and thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls over Islamabad and Kashmir, with similar conditions likely across other regions over the next 24 to 48 hours. Azad Jammu and Kashmir votes in the first phase of its Legislative Assembly elections on Monday.
