Islamabad, Sep 9 (IANS) At least 17 people were killed and over 20 others injured in several rain-related accidents in eastern and southern Pakistan Sunday, reported Xinhua, citing local media and officials.
The rains raised havoc in eastern province of Punjab where flood water inundated several low-lying areas, caused collapse of several houses and destroyed crops in thousands of hectares of land.
The industrial city of Faisalabad and its adjoining area Kamalia were the worst hit where at least three people were killed and 12 others, including women and children, were injured in incidents of roof collapse.
Torrential rains in provincial capital city Lahore killed two people. Several people were injured in roof collapse in western city of Multan when an estimated 90 mm of rain lasted for more than five hours.
In southwest Muzzafargarh district, at least two people were killed and two others injured in roof collapse.
The southern province of Sindh was also affected by heavy rains where at least five people were electrocuted in Hyderabad city.
The port city of Karachi was also hit by heavy rain.
Rain water entered the houses in low-lying areas of Karachi and some other areas of the province. Traffic was also affected as roads in the city were submerged under rain water.
Parts of southwest province of Balochistan also had heavy rains and several houses and crops were inundated by the flood water in various areas. At least five people including women and children were killed as a house collapsed in Qila Saifullah area of the province.
Widespread rain and thundershower with scattered heavy falls are expected during Monday across the country. A low air pressure will enter Pakistan during next 32 hours which is expected to cause heavy downpours in the country next week, the Met Office said in a statement.
Pakistan has been hit by heavy monsoon rains since the third week of August. To date, over 100 people have been killed and several others injured in rain-related accidents across the country.
Monsoon rains hit Pakistan every year in June and they usually start to retreat during the first week of September. Heavy rainfall in September is quite uncommon because of the country’s geographical location.
However, since last two years, the country has observed widespread rainfall in September, including the dry areas like southern and southeastern cities.
