Deadly weather kills dozens across Pakistan as officials declare state of emergency

More than 20 people died in both northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and Punjab, where more rains were expected this week

Some deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat. Rains also caused houses to collapse in Pakistan’s northwest and east

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An area of Peshawar flooded after heavy rain is evacuated by volunteers with humanitarian NGO the Alkhidmat Foundation on Monday using a rubber raft. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 12:26pm, 16 Apr 2024

Lightning and heavy rains killed at least 49 people across Pakistan over three days, officials said, as authorities in the country’s southwest declared a state of emergency.

Some deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat. Rains caused dozens of houses to collapse in the northwest and in eastern Punjab province.

Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority, said on Monday that 21 people had died in Punjab, where more rains were expected this week. Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the disaster management authority in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said 21 people died there.

Rain also lashed the capital, Islamabad, and killed seven people in southwestern Baluchistan province. Streets flooded in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in Quetta, the Baluchistan capital.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks that he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid. Pakistan’s water reservoirs would improve because of the rains, he said.

Rafay Alam, a Pakistani environmental expert, said such heavy April rainfall is unusual.