At least 19 killed as heavy rains continue to lash Pakistan
Islamabad, Aug 28 (efe-epa).- At least 19 people were killed and as many injured on Friday in Pakistan due to heavy monsoon rains, officials said a day after parts of the country received their highest single-day rainfall in 53 years.
According to the national disaster management authority, the victims included 14 people who died in wall and house collapse incidents in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in which 8 people were reported injured.
A day earlier, torrential rains and floods in the port city of Karachi – Pakistan’s main financial hub – had killed 23 people and injured 15.
“Our records show at least 23 people died in different rain-related accidents yesterday in different parts of the city,” Ahmed Raza, an official at the Karachi police commissioner’s office, told EFE.
Many major roads and streets in the city continue to remain submerged in flood waters, while power has also not been restored in some areas after outages were reported on Thursday.
“Several areas remain inaccessible due to high water levels. Power will continue to remain closed until all standing water is cleared,” power distributor K-Electric said on Friday.
The government of the Sindh province – which has its capital in Karachi – declared a public holiday on Friday in all government and private institutions, except essential service-providers.
According to the meteorological department, the 230.5 mm (9 inches) rain that Karachi registered on Thursday was the highest within 24-hours since July 1967.
The heavy rains have also broken an all-time monthly record for August due to intense monsoon activity.
“The Met department has recorded 587 mm rain in the month of August so far, which is a record since 1931,” Sardar Sarfraz, the weather chief for Karachi, told EFE.
According to official data, monsoon rains have killed 125 people and injured 71 across the country since June 15.
Every year, rainfall leads to significant human and property damage in South Asian countries, especially during the monsoon period between June and September.
One of the worst natural disasters in Pakistan’s history was the flooding in 2010 following an extraordinarily intense monsoon, which, combined with a massive summer thaw, left some 2,000 people dead and more than 20 million affected. EFE-EPA
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