Heavy monsoon rains across Pakistan’s Punjab province have killed 65 people and injured nearly 300 in the past 24 hours, provincial officials said, bringing the nationwide death toll from the rains to at least 180 since late June.
The downpours on Thursday caused flooding and building collapses, with most of the deaths caused by the roofs of weaker homes failing. Lahore, the eastern provincial capital, reported 15 deaths, Faisalabad nine, and the farming towns of Okara, Sahiwal and Pakpattan several more.
Rescue teams used boats to evacuate families from villages along riversides further south in the morning, but the water had begun to recede by the afternoon.
“Children were screaming for help, and women stood on rooftops, waving their shawls and begging to be rescued,” said Tariq Mehbood Bhatti, a 51-year-old farmer in Ladian village.
Residents living in low-lying areas near the Nullah Lai River, which runs through Rawalpindi city, neighbouring the capital Islamabad, were ordered to evacuate after a sharp rise in the water level.
“Rescue teams are on standby for more evacuations,” a spokeswoman for the disaster agency said.
The Rawalpindi government declared a public holiday on Thursday to keep people at home.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Punjab’s Chakwal district, said “heavy rains [are] causing extensive damage and also loss of life” across the Punjab region.
Rains have “swept away small dams which have burst at banks,” he said, adding that the military is using helicopters to evacuate people who are now surrounded by water.
“Pakistan has seen devastating floods over the last few years. This monsoon season is not different,” Hyder added. Experts have warned that the country can see extreme weather in the coming years, he said.
Since late June, the monsoon rains have killed 103 people and injured 393 in Punjab alone, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). More than 120 homes were damaged and six livestock animals killed.
A high flood alert was issued for the Jhelum River at the northern town of Mangla, where water inflows were expected to surge to high levels, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. Authorities warned that adjoining streams could also overflow in the next 24 hours, putting nearby communities at risk.
Monsoon rains are a routine part of South Asia’s climate and are essential for crop irrigation and replenishing water supplies. However, their adverse impact has worsened in recent years due to rapid urban expansion, poor drainage systems, and more frequent extreme weather events linked to climate change.
