21 dead in past 24 hours; fatalities occurred due to collapsing homes, drowning and landslides
Islamabad
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday issued directives to authorities concerned for expediting the rescue and rehabilitation efforts as torrential rains claimed 21 more lives in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 242 since the beginning of the monsoon season.
The fatalities occurred due to flash floods, collapsing homes, drowning, electrocution, lightning strikes, and landslides, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) statistics.
In the last 24 hours, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded 10 deaths and two injuries, Islamabad saw five deaths and one injury, Sindh reported two deaths, Gilgit-Baltistan witnessed three deaths and one injury, and Azad Kashmir reported one death and two injuries.
Among the 21 people who died over the past day were six men, three women, and twelve children. Of the six injured, two were men, one was a woman, and three were children.
The NDMA stated that since the beginning of the monsoon, the total number of casualties has risen to 242, while 598 people have been injured. The deceased include 83 men, 43 women, and 116 children. Among the injured are 232 men, 167 women, and 199 children. Punjab has witnessed the highest number of casualties so far, with 135 dead and 470 injured. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 56 deaths and 71 injuries, followed by Sindh with 24 deaths and 40 injuries.
Balochistan recorded 16 deaths and four injuries, Gilgit-Baltistan three deaths and four injuries, Azad Kashmir two deaths and eight injuries, while Islamabad has so far seen six deaths and one injury.
The NDMA said the majority of deaths occurred due to houses collapsing during the rains, followed by incidents of drowning, lightning, flash floods, electrocution, and landslides.
In the past 24 hours alone, 50 houses were destroyed, and eight livestock animals perished. The total number of houses damaged in the ongoing monsoon has now reached 854, while 208 livestock animals have been killed.
