By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s monsoon death toll has climbed to 86 after five more people were killed in rain-related incidents over the past 24 hours, disaster management officials said on Friday, as forecasters warned that a fresh spell of heavy rain could bring urban flooding and flash floods to large parts of the country over the coming days.
Four children died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one man was killed in Punjab in the latest fatalities, while a further 31 people were injured, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The new warning follows weeks of monsoon rain that have already battered much of the country, triggering flash floods, bringing down homes and damaging roads, power lines and other infrastructure.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in an advisory that further thundershowers were expected in the south and centre of the country, including Sindh, from Friday evening until Monday. Officials cautioned that the rain could cause urban flooding in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sukkur and Hyderabad, among other cities, while strong winds and lightning threatened to damage weak structures such as electricity poles, solar panels and billboards.
Meteorologists said a low-pressure area sitting over south-west Rajasthan in neighbouring India was driving the latest weather system, drawing widespread rain and thunderstorms across Sindh, Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir in the days ahead.
Since the monsoon season began on 26 June, rain-related incidents have killed 86 people and injured 272 others across Pakistan, NDMA figures show. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has borne the brunt of the destruction, recording 51 deaths, followed by Punjab with 22, Azad Kashmir with seven and Balochistan with six. The collapse of homes, many of them built from mud brick and unable to withstand sustained heavy rainfall, has accounted for the majority of deaths this season, while flash floods, lightning strikes and electrocution have also claimed lives.
Authorities urged travellers to exercise caution during the forecast period and called on farmers to take precautions to protect standing crops and livestock. Emergency agencies have been told to remain on alert and ready to respond to weather-related incidents as they arise.
Three to four days of rain forecast
In a more detailed advisory issued on Friday, the PMD said the fresh spell of wet weather was expected to last three to four days, driven by an active monsoon system linked to the low-pressure area over Rajasthan.
The department said Sindh should expect rain and thundershowers, with a few heavy falls, in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Sanghar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Hyderabad, Matiari, Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, Ghotki, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Sukkur, Qambar-Shahdadkot, Larkana, Khairpur, Nosheroferoz and Thatta, beginning Friday evening and continuing until Monday, with occasional breaks. Karachi, it said, could expect cloudy skies and light rain over the same period.
Balochistan was forecast largely cloudy conditions, with rain and thundershowers expected in the north and north-east of the province, including Zhob, Sherani, Loralai, Kohlu, Sibbi, Naseerabad, Jhal Magsi, Jaffarabad, Barkhan, Dera Bugti, Awaran and Khuzdar, with isolated heavy falls possible.
In Punjab, the department forecast rain and windstorms, along with thundershowers and isolated heavy falls, across Lahore, Sheikhupura, Okara, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Vehari, Khanewal, Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Kot Addu, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahim Yar Khan and Khanpur from Friday evening until Monday. Islamabad, Rawalpindi and a swathe of northern and central Punjab — including Murree, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Sargodha — were also forecast rain and thundershowers, with occasional gaps, from Friday evening until Sunday.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faces similar conditions across Dir, Chitral, Swat, Malakand, Nowshera, Charsadda, Peshawar, Mardan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Kohat, Bannu, Waziristan and Khyber, among other districts, from Friday evening until Monday, while Gilgit-Baltistan’s Diamer, Astore, Ghizer, Skardu, Hunza and Gilgit districts were forecast rain until Sunday. In Azad Kashmir, isolated windstorms and thundershowers are expected in Neelum Valley, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Poonch, Bagh, Kotli and Mirpur through to Tuesday.
The PMD singled out Gujranwala and Lahore as at risk of urban flooding on Friday and Saturday, alongside Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad, Hyderabad, Thatta, Badin, Sanghar, Khairpur, Mithi, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Sialkot, Multan and Faisalabad between Friday and Sunday. It repeated its warning that windstorms and lightning could damage weak structures and urged tourists and travellers to remain cautious, farmers to manage crop activities and protect livestock, and relevant authorities to stay vigilant throughout the forecast period.
Sindh’s senior minister, Sharjeel Inam Memon, said relevant departments across the province had been placed on high alert ahead of the forecast rain, with district administrations, rescue services and emergency response teams on standby. Writing on X, he said machinery and pumping equipment were being deployed to areas considered at risk, and he advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel during periods of heavy rainfall. “The safety of citizens remains our top priority,” he said.
Lahore hit by heaviest rainfall of the season
The latest warning comes after the PMD forecast rain, windstorms and thundershowers across most of the country between 18 and 25 July, prompting provincial and district administrations to step up precautionary measures. At least 37 people were killed in rain-related incidents during that spell, as flash floods and landslides damaged houses, crops, livestock and roads across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, it emerged on Wednesday.
Lahore recorded the heaviest rainfall of this year’s monsoon so far, with 263mm falling at the airport and surrounding areas on Thursday, flooding roads and bringing large parts of the city to a standstill. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also been particularly hard hit, with its death toll from rain-related incidents reaching 20 by Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, planning minister Ahsan Iqbal chaired a meeting of the Emergency Response Committee at the National Emergencies Operations Centre to review the country’s preparedness for the monsoon season, with officials examining provincial readiness, relief supplies and drainage systems.
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