Punjab declares emergency as rain claims dozens of lives

Heavy monsoon rains across Pakistan's Punjab province killed at least 63 people and injured 393 in the past 24 hours, provincial officials said on Thursday, bringing the nationwide death toll from the rains to at least 180 since late June.

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It was one of the deadliest days of this year's rainy season so far.

In response, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif declared a “rain emergency” across the province, including in Rawalpindi, where sirens were sounded and emergency measures activated.

Rainfall has triggered flash floods and inundated several villages as the country experiences 828 more rainfall this month compared to the same period in July 2024, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued an updated flood alert on Thursday and urged local officials to remain on high alert. Tourists were advised to avoid travel to affected areas where rains could trigger landslides and block highways. television news footage on Thursday showed an army helicopter plucking three members of a family from the roof of their house after they were stranded by a flash flood on the outskirts of Rawalpindi city.

Since June 26, Pakistan has reported 178 deaths from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest, Sindh in the south and Balochistan in the southwest, officials said.