19 more perish, hundreds stranded in rain-hit Balochistan and KP as more rains predicted across the counrtry

 

Heavy rains and floods have unleashed devastation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaving 19 more dead and hundreds of others stranded in both provinces, disaster management authorities said. 

Relentless monsoon rains have pummeled the country and spelled disaster in towns, cities and villages alike. 

The Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps have been aiding the civil administration in rescue and relief operations in the provinces. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif departed for Balochistan to visit the flood-affected areas of the province and review the rescue and relief operations in the province, Information Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Saturday. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 10 people were killed and 17 injured in floods and roof collapses, according to a report issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). It said that in the last 36 hours, nearly 100 houses were completely damaged in the floods leaving residents stranded in waist-high water and no roof. 

The most-affected areas include Khyber, Mansehra, Lower Dir, Buner, Swabi and Dera Ismail Khan. The PDMA has warned that there were high-level floods in the Kabul and Jandi rivers and instructed administration to relocate people living in neighbouring areas. 

Rain, thunderstorms expected across Pakistan 

In its latest forecast on Saturday, the Met Office predicted more rains accompanied by thunderstorms across the country during the next 12 hours. Isolated heavy falls are likely in Kashmir, upper Punjab, Islamabad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and north Balochistan, a Radio Pakistan report said. It added that cloudy weather with chances of rain-wind-thundershower was predicted in Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian and Baramula.