36 die, 50 wounded in Pakistan rains-related incidents

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 36 people, mostly children, have been killed and 50 others injured following heavy rains in Pakistan during the past 48 hours, media reports say.

The heavy rains caused houses to collapse and triggered landslides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces since Thursday.

At least 30 rain-related deaths were reported in various areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Many of the fatalities were women and children, the provincial disaster management authority said in a statement on Sunday.

Five people died in the southwestern Balochistan province after the coastal town of Gwadar got flooded, forcing authorities to use boats to evacuate some 10,000 people.

Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister in Balochistan, said on Sunday that 700 homes had been damaged.

Casualties and extensive damage were also reported in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the National Disaster Management Authority said in a separate statement.

Emergency relief was being provided to people in affected areas and heavy machinery was being used to remove debris blocking highways, the agency added.

The country’s Karakoram Highway, which links Pakistan with China, is still blocked in some places due to landslides.

Authorities advised tourists against travelling to the scenic north due to weather conditions. Last week, several visitors were stranded there because of the heavy rains, which came as Pakistan also witnessed severe snowfall.

hz/ma

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