Pakistan flash floods and heavy rains kill 24

PESHAWAR: Heavy rains and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 24 people including 12 children since the start of the monsoon season this week, disaster management officials said.

At least 13 people have been killed in the eastern province of Punjab since Wednesday, the area’s disaster management authority said Saturday.

Eight of the fatalities were children, who died when walls and roofs collapsed during heavy rains.

The latest toll came after officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said 11 people were killed in flash floods and landslides over 24 hours.

Those victims included “four children and three women – while six others have been injured”, the province’s disaster management agency said late Friday.

The agency said 10 of those killed were in the northwestern Swat Valley where, according to local media, a flash flood swept away families on a riverbank.

Moderate to heavy showers continue in parts of Karachi

Flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also damaged 56 houses, six of which were destroyed, the disaster agency said.

The national meteorological service warned that the risk of heavy rain and possible flash floods will remain high until at least Tuesday.

Last month, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms in the South Asian nation, which experienced several extreme weather events in the spring, including strong hailstorms.

Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million inhabitants are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.