Rain death toll in Pakistan rises to 209

Monsoon rains pummelled Pakistan, with flash floods sweeping villages in their way in the north, damaging key highways and railway tracks in the south and southwest, and raising the overall death toll from the natural calamity to 209 since July 1, officials said, Report informs referring to The Express Tribune.

Fourteen people have died across Punjab in the past 24 hours, said Irfan Ali Kathia, the head of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA). The overall death toll in the province has risen to 84 from July 1 till date.

The latest spell of rain, which started around the weekend, has pummelled Sindh and Balochistan. According to the PDMA Balochistan, 19 people died, 11 were injured and 433 houses were fully or partially destroyed in 16 districts of Balochistan from July 1 till August 17.

In Sindh, three people including a mother and son were killed in a heavy downpour in Jacobabad on Monday that inundated several villages. A 65-year-old woman and her 30-year-old son died in a roof collapse incident in Dudapur area of Garhi Khairu Tehsil. One person also died in a wall collapse in Dodapur.

A day ago, heavy rain flooded the streets of Sukkur and surrounding areas. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that Sukkur and nearby Rohri received 134 millimeters of rain. However, in a video statement, Sukkur Mayor Barrister Arsalan Islam Sheikh disputed the rain gauge.

Sheikh had claimed that the city received 290mm of rain in a single day, breaking a 77-year record. Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani supported the district administration's claim, stating that 281mm of rain was recorded in Sukkur with five spells of torrential rain observed.

The Sindh PDMA shared data of two spells of rains – from August 16 to 17 and August 17 to 18. It said that a total of 125mm rainfall was recorded in Pano Aqil tehsil; 193mm in Rohri tehsil; 115mm in Salehpat tehsil and 263mm in Sukkur city.