Heavy rains kill more than 40 in three days in Pakistan

At least 41 people have died due to the heavy rains that have fallen on Pakistan since Friday April 12, local authorities reported on Monday. Punjab, the largest and most populous province in the country, recorded the heaviest human losses: 21 people were killed there between Friday and Sunday, when lightning struck often exposed rural areas, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). In Baluchistan, in the southwest of the country, at least eight people died, including seven struck by lightning, also reports the NDMA delegation on site. With some areas still submerged, schools in the province will remain closed until Tuesday as a precautionary measure, she adds.

In the province of Sindh, in the coastal south, four people died in road accidents linked to heavy rainfall, local authorities say. Heavy rains also killed eight people, including four children, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, causing houses to collapse, according to local authorities.

The NDMA has issued a warning for landslides and flash floods. Meteorological services predict several more days of heavy rain in most provinces of the country. Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with its 240 million inhabitantsis among the most threatened by global warming, which is leading to an increase in extreme weather phenomena.