ISLAMABAD: Heavy rains have triggered flash floods and landslides at multiple locations in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) province, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with the nationwide death toll rising to 266.
Pakistan has witnessed intense rains, storms and flash floods since June 26. The deluges have destroyed 70 houses and partially damaged over 100 others in Thak Niyat, Tata Pani, Thor and Skarkoi areas of Gilgit-Baltistan.
“Thor flash flood tragically claimed the lives of two local children,” the NDMA said in its latest situation report.
Since late June, Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province has reported 144 deaths, followed by 63 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 25 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan, two in Azad Kashmir, and eight each in GB and Islamabad.
The NDMA said moderate monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea were penetrating the lower half of the country, with a seasonal low now lying over northern Balochistan.
“Scattered thunderstorm/rain with isolated heavy falls is expected over Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Lahore, DG Khan, Bahawalpur (Bahawalnagar), Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu and DI Khan divisions,” the authority said.
Showers were expected over upper catchments of all major rivers as well.
Pakistan, which ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, has witnessed increasingly erratic weather events in recent years.
In 2022, a third of the country was submerged by deadly floods, with more than 1,700 people killed, over 30 million affected and damages totaling $35 billion. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms.