By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: At least 21 people have died and dozens more were injured in rain-related disasters across Pakistan’s northwest and southwest since late last week, officials said, as a new wave of storms threatened to bring widespread flooding, landslides and structural collapses to much of the country in the coming days.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone, 17 people have been killed and 56 injured since March 25, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. Fourteen of the dead were children. The toll came from roofs and walls caving in under the weight of heavy rain in the districts of Bannu, North Waziristan, Abbottabad, Kohat, Upper Dir, Bajaur and Battagram. Bannu was the hardest hit. At least 11 houses suffered partial damage.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said it has ordered local officials to expedite relief operations, with priority given to affected families in Bannu. Intermittent rains continued Monday and were expected to persist at least through Tuesday, the authority said, urging residents to avoid unnecessary travel, steer clear of vulnerable tourist spots and heed official warnings.
Pakistan, one of the countries most exposed to the effects of climate change, has seen increasingly erratic and destructive weather in recent years. Extreme rainfall, floods and heat waves have repeatedly exposed the fragility of its infrastructure and the limits of its disaster preparedness. Catastrophic monsoon floods in 2022 killed more than 1,700 people and displaced or affected 33 million others nationwide. Last year, another round of heavy monsoon rains killed more than 900, with Punjab province among the worst affected; millions were displaced, and vast areas of farmland were submerged, destroying crops and livelihoods.
In Balochistan province, at least four more people were killed in rain-related incidents, officials said. The provincial disaster management authority reported damage to homes in the districts of Kech and Qila Abdullah. The latest spell of rain there began last Wednesday.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned that a “westerly wave” moving in from the southwest would bring widespread rain, wind and thunderstorms — with isolated heavy downpours and hail — across large parts of the country from Wednesday through Saturday. The system is expected to affect Balochistan starting Wednesday evening, with occasional breaks, and to linger until April 4.
In Balochistan, the forecast covered Panjgur, Turbat, Kech, Awaran, the Makran Coast including Gwadar, Pasni and Ormara, as well as Lasbela, Khuzdar, Kharan, Chaghi, Dalbandin, Kalat, Sibi, Kohlu, Barkhan, Naseerabad, Quetta, Loralai, Ziarat, Chaman, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Noshki, Harnai, Zhob, Kalat and Mastung.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, rain and thunderstorms — including mountain snowfall — were forecast in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kalam, Shangla, Buner, Kohistan, Malakand, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Balakot, Haripur, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Kurram, Swabi, Charsadda, Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, Dera Ismail Khan and Waziristan.
Punjab was expected to see rainfall and thunderstorms, with isolated hail, in Murree, Galiyat, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Sargodha, Mianwali, Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Khushab, Noorpur Thal, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Narowal, Lahore, Pakpattan, Okara, Kasur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Bhakkar, Layyah, Multan, Kot Addu, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan. Heavy rain was specifically forecast around Dera Ghazi Khan.
In Sindh, rain and isolated hailstorms were expected in Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Dadu, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad and Tharparkar. Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir were also forecast to see rain, with snowfall over the mountains.
The meteorological department warned of landslides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir, and of possible flash floods in northeastern Balochistan — particularly Khuzdar, Lasbela, Awaran, Kharan, Kalat, Mastung, Kohlu, Zhob, Qila Saifullah, Qila Abdullah and Sherani — as well as in the hill torrents of Dera Ghazi Khan and the local streams and nullahs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It also cautioned that windstorms, hail and lightning could damage weak structures such as electric poles, billboards and solar panels. The department advised tourists to remain “extra cautious” and avoid unnecessary travel.
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