Lightning and heavy rains have claimed the lives of at least 49 people across Pakistan in the past three days, officials announced on Monday. The devastating weather conditions prompted authorities in the country’s southwest to declare a state of emergency.
Reports indicate that several deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers who were out harvesting wheat. Additionally, heavy rains led to the collapse of dozens of houses in the northwest and eastern Punjab province.
Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority, revealed that 21 people lost their lives in Punjab, where further rains are expected in the coming week. Khursheed Anwar, another spokesman for the disaster management authority, confirmed that 21 people died in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan.
Rainfall also battered the capital city of Islamabad, as well as southwestern Baluchistan province, resulting in the deaths of seven people. Streets were inundated with floodwaters in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addressed the nation via televised remarks, announcing that he had directed authorities to provide relief aid to those affected by the severe weather. He also mentioned that Pakistan’s water reservoirs would benefit from the rains.
Rafay Alam, an environmental expert from Pakistan, expressed concern over the unusual heavy rainfall in April. He attributed the erratic weather patterns to climate change, which had previously caused devastating flooding in 2022.
“In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point inundated one-third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people,” Alam recalled. “The floods also caused $30 billion in damage.”
Meanwhile, neighboring Afghanistan also faced severe weather-related challenges, with heavy flooding claiming the lives of 33 people and injuring 27 others in just three days. Abdullah Janan Saiq, the Taliban’s spokesman for the State Ministry for Natural Disaster Management, provided details of the situation.
“More than 600 houses were damaged or destroyed, while around 200 livestock died,” Saiq reported. “The flooding also caused extensive damage to agricultural land and infrastructure, including over 85 kilometers (53 miles) of roads.”
He added that authorities in Afghanistan had mobilized efforts to provide aid to nearly 23,000 affected families, with flash floods reported in 20 out of the country’s 34 provinces.
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