5 more killed in Pak due to torrential rains toll reaches 116

     Islamabad/Lahore, Jul 15 (PTI) Five more people were killed in Pakistan due to torrential rains, with the death toll reaching 116, according to the country’s top disaster-control body on Tuesday.
     The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has been tracking the rain-related losses since June 26 this year when the first spell of the monsoon rain hit the country.
     In Punjab, four people were killed and 38 others injured in the torrential rains while in Sindh, one person was killed and three others were injured, according to the NDMA.
     Of the 116 deaths, 44 were reported in Punjab, 37 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 18 Sindh, 16 Balochistan, and one in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
     Of the 253 injured, 149 were in Punjab, 55 in KP, 40 in Sindh, four in Balochistan and five in PoK.
     In the last 48 hours, at least 11 people, including four children, were killed and over two dozen injured in rain-related incidents in Punjab province.
     Widespread rain hit most parts of the province submerging low-lying areas and triggering power outages.
     The NDMA also reported that 485 houses were either partially or totally damaged, while livestock losses were 117.
     Authorities carried out 25 rescue operations and rescued at least 262 stranded people.
     According to the NDMA, 26 relief and medical camps have been set up to provide support to the affected people.
     Meanwhile, rainfall has been reported in different parts of the country and the spell is expected to continue till Thursday.
     According to the National Weather Forecasting Centre, a well-marked low pressure area (LPA), presently over northeast Rajasthan, is likely to affect Pakistan in the next 24 hours.
     “Under the influence of this weather system, strong monsoon currents are expected to penetrate central and upper parts. A westerly wave is also present over upper parts of the country,” it said.
     It stated that in the next 24 hours, rain accompanied by windstorms or thundershowers is likely at most places in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PoK, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, northeast/south Balochistan and southeast/upper Sindh.
     It further said that scattered heavy rainfall is likely in Punjab, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and northeast Balochistan.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)