ISLAMABAD, Aug 29, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – At least 106 people have been
killed and 52 injured since June 15 in separate incidents triggered off by
torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan, the National Disaster Management
Authority (NDMA) said in a report on Friday.
South Sindh province was the worst hit where 34 people were killed and nine
others injured in the rain-related incidents, the authority said, adding that
24 houses were also damaged in the heavy downpour.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah told a press
conference on Friday that 80 people were killed in rains in the province with
47 fatalities in provincial capital Karachi alone.
He said 604-mm rainfall was recorded in Karachi during August, breaking
years-long record of heavy rains in the city during the month.
A total of 29 people were killed, and a same number of others injured with
196 houses being destroyed in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the
NDMA said, adding that two bridges and three mosques were also swept away by
the waters gushing through the residential areas, roads and open fields.
The rains caused a disastrous situation in southwest Balochistan province
where scores were left homeless after their houses were swept away by flash
floods triggered off by lashing rains. The NDMA said that 15 people were
killed, seven others injured and 907 houses damaged in the pouring rains.
In east Punjab province, north Gilgit-Baltistan region and Pakistan-
controlled Kashmir, 12, 10 and six people were killed in accidents caused by
the rains, respectively. About seven people were also injured in the areas,
the authority said.
The NDMA has provided 10,985 tents, 409.6 tons of food items, 2,956
blankets, 2,200 mosquito nets, 2,350 plastic mats, 2,000 tarpaulins and 222
dewatering pumps in the affected areas.
The authority said that scattered thunderstorms and rain with isolated
heavy falls is expected in parts of the country on Saturday.
The monsoon winds are the major source of downpour in the country during
the months of July-September. The rains also cause destruction in the country
almost every year, inundating low-lying areas and sweeping away the houses
located near river banks.
This year, the meteorological department forecasted more than usual rains
during the ongoing season, and the concerned departments issued advisories
for the general public to take self-precautionary measures during the season.