Torrential rains! 37 people die in 48 hours in Pakistan
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AFP photo.
Peshawar/Pakistan: In Pakistan, at least 37 people lost life in rain-related incidents in 48 hours, administration informed on Sunday. Severe rains that washed the country collapsed houses and triggered landslides to block roads, mainly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, PTI reported.
In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, 27 people have died since Thursday night, and most of them were children.
Torrential rains washed down the districts of Bajaur, Swat, Lower Dir, Malakand, Khyber, Peshawar, North, South Waziristan, and Lakki Marwat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 37 people.
After five people died in southwestern Balochistan province following floods in the coastal town of Gwadar, authorities used boats to evacuate inhabitants. Over the past two days, torrential rains hit the town, affecting normal life and rendering people homeless.
Human settlements, commercial establishments, houses and roads were badly affected, and many collapsed.
Further, there were casualties reported in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing five people in the region.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority said emergency relief and heavy machinery were sent to the region to remove debris blocking highways.
Due to landslides, the Karakoram Highway that links Pakistan with China is blocked. This was triggered by rain and snow, the spokesman for the northern Gilgit Baltistan region, Faizullah Faraq, said. He added that the snowfall experienced here is unusually heavy for this time of the year in the region.
Authorities advised tourists against travelling to the scenic north due to weather conditions. Last week, several visitors were stranded there because of heavy rains.
PTI reports that Pakistan experienced a late bout of winter rains in February instead of November. Every year, winter rains and monsoons cause severe damage in the country.
Chief Minister KPK Ali Amin Gandapur said rain-affected people would not be left alone in this critical hour and would be duly compensated against their damages.