ISLAMABAD: Flash floods and heavy rain in Pakistan have killed 64 people and injured 117 in a week, a government agency said Wednesday.
The highest toll was in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with 23 dead including 10 children, the National Disaster Management Authority said.
Fourteen of the victims were swept away in a flash flood in the Swat Valley last week, local media reported.
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Flash floods and homes collapsing in heavy rain killed 21 others in the eastern province of Punjab, including 11 children, the authority said.
In the southern province of Sindh, 15 were killed, while five people died in southwestern Balochistan.
The national meteorological service warned that the risk of heavy rain and possible flash floods will remain high until at least Saturday.
In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms in the South Asian nation, which experienced several extreme weather events in the spring, including strong hailstorms.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 255 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.
In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.
An earlier report revealed that persistent high temperatures in Gilgit-Baltistan have caused rapid melting of glaciers, leading to increased water levels in rivers and streams, flash floods and landslides.
Gilgit-Baltistan is home to over 13,000 glaciers, more than any other region in the world outside the polar regions. These glaciers are a vital source of fresh water, supplying approximately 70% of Pakistan’s fresh water, which flows into rivers, providing drinking water, supporting ecological habitats, facilitating agricultural activities, and generating electricity.
However, recent heatwaves are causing the glaciers to melt at an accelerated rate.