At least 8 dead, 13 injured in rain-related incidents across country
NDMA issues urban flood warning as more rains, thundershowers predicted
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: At least eight more people were killed and 13 injured on Sunday in separate rain-related incidents across Karachi, some areas of Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, according to rescue officials.
Monsoon rains, which fall across the region from June to September every year, continue to lash many parts of the country, prompting authorities to release an urban flooding warning for several cities. According to rescue officials, at least 32 people have been killed across four provinces over the last two days as heavy rains triggered flash floods and damaged houses. Meanwhile, some people lost their lives due to electrocution.
On Sunday, Rescue 1122 issued a statement outlining 11 new casualties in Lahore as a result of rain-related incidents.
“Rescue 1122 received 10 emergency calls about collapsing walls in different parts of the city,” the statement read. “One woman was killed and 10 others were seriously injured. They were moved to various hospitals and received medical aid in Rescue Emergency ambulances.”
The statement added that there were also reports of falling trees across Lahore; however, there were no fatalities or injuries.
“Rescue 1122 staff are present at the highways and are removing fallen trees from the roads,” the statement added.
However, in a separate report, Rescue 1122 said that a billboard fell due to the intense rain and wind and fell on a motorcyclist and his family in Lahore.
According to Rescue 1122, the 50-year-old motorcyclist was killed, while his 35-year-old wife and child were injured, bringing the overall death toll to eight. The casualties were transported to Jinnah Hospital.
In Karachi, two people, including the younger brother of former lawmaker and PPP Karachi leader Javed Nagori, were electrocuted in rain-related incidents, according to officials and relatives.
In another incident, a young man was electrocuted in the metropolis’ Clifton area. Boat Basin Police Station House Officer Malik Riaz Niazi said the man, in his early 30s, was passing by the Parklane Hospital when he apparently touched a wet electric pole and suffered an electric shock.
Meanwhile, in Punjab’s Sharifpura, two people were killed and one injured when the roof of a mud house collapsed. The bodies and injured were shifted to Services Hospital, according to Rescue 1122.
Heavy rains were recorded in various districts of Punjab over the past 24 hours, according to Irfan Ali Kathia, Director General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
The GB Disaster Management Authority issued a warning of increased risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) and flash floods.
“Due to intense heat and the western weather system, the ice in the glaciers of GB is melting rapidly, resulting in an increased risk of glacial floods and flash floods.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a countrywide alert warning of heavy monsoon rains and possible flooding in several regions of Pakistan over the next few days.
The NEOC has issued multiple impact-based weather alerts in view of expected widespread rain-wind/thundershowers, accompanied by isolated heavy falls, across various regions of Pakistan from June 29 to July 5.
