Monsoon rains claim 193 lives across Pakistan

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Authorities have released detailed figures on the damage caused by monsoon rains in Pakistan between June 26 and July 17, revealing a tragic toll across multiple provinces.

According to the report, as many as 15 people lost their lives in the past 24 hours alone due to rain-related incidents, including eight children. Additionally, fifty-three individuals sustained injuries during the same period. Nationwide, the total death toll from the ongoing monsoon season has reached 193, with 544 people injured. Punjab has suffered the highest number of casualties, with 114 deaths and 437 injuries reported so far.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, forty people have died and 57 have been injured. Sindh recorded 21 deaths and 40 injuries, while Balochistan has reported 16 fatalities and four injured. Azad Kashmir and Islamabad each reported one death due to heavy rains. The monsoon has also severely impacted property and livestock. In the last 24 hours, seventy-nine homes were damaged, and 67 livestock animals drowned.

Overall, since the start of the monsoon period, 689 homes have been reported damaged or destroyed, while 193 livestock animals have been lost due to flooding. The scale of destruction underscores the ongoing vulnerability of communities across Pakistan to extreme weather events and the pressing need for improved disaster preparedness and climate resilience measures.

Meanwhile, the water level in the Indus River continues to rise steadily, reaching the katcha (riverine) areas of Sehwan and triggering a low-level flood emergency.

According to irrigation officials, three union councils in Sehwan tehsil have now been declared under low-level flood conditions following the surge in river water. Floodwaters have inundated the katcha areas, cutting off more than 30 villages from the nearby cities of Sehwan and Bhan Syedabad. Villages including Bilawalpur, Daredeero, Jhundiani, Nayo Wahan, Mahi Otho, and Mahi Sehta are now completely surrounded by water.

In response to the worsening situation, local villagers have arranged private boats for transport, maintaining a link with urban centres as all road access has been severed. The residents of the flood-hit areas have urged the district administration to provide government-operated boats to ease movement and support emergency needs.

The Irrigation Department has warned that the water level is expected to rise further in the coming days. In anticipation, an emergency has been declared on the LS protective bund, and continuous monitoring of the embankments has begun. Meanwhile, the flood control room has reported that the Indus River at Guddu Barrage is currently experiencing a low-level flood. Encouragingly, water levels are now rapidly declining.

A 50-foot-wide breach in the Pat Feeder Canal in Balochistan’s Sohbatpur district has submerged dozens of villages, as monsoon-triggered flooding continues to wreak havoc in the region. According to the details, the breach occurred near Jangi Mori in the tehsil of Mulguzar during the ongoing spell of heavy monsoon rains. As the canal gave way, water rushed out at high speed, inundating a wide area and leaving many villages underwater.