Record-breaking rain deluges Lahore

The current spell of monsoon rains intensified on Thursday as the country's upper parts and northern regions received record-breaking showers, triggering flash floods in hilly areas, inundating urban localities, and destroying mud houses.

Moreover, the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) on Thursday predicted medium to high flood in rivers Jhelum, Kabul, Ravi, Indus and Chenab catchments between Friday and Monday while medium to high flood (flash flooding) is also expected from hill torrents of DG Khan Division (Punjab) and nullahs of Zhob, Sibbi, Nasirabad and Kalat divisions (Balochistan).

The country's second-largest city of Lahore was deluged with record-breaking rainfall on Thursday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said, with hospitals flooded, power supply interrupted and streets submerged.

The city was lashed by almost 360 millimetres (14 inches) of rain in three hours, the PMD said. "This was record-breaking rainfall," the agency's deputy director Farooq Dar told AFP.

The previous record dates to July 1980, when 332 millimetres fell over three hours.

"Look at all these buckets and how much water has accumulated. We're exhausted from trying to remove the water," Sadam, a 32-year-old shopkeeper, told AFP as he took stock of his considerable losses.

The PMD had forecast a wetter-than-usual monsoon season this year for Pakistan, one of the countries experts say is most vulnerable to extreme weather being spurred by climate change.

Over the past three days, 24 people have been killed by rainfall in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said.

In Lahore, one person was killed by electrocution as a result of Thursday's cloudburst, according to local police.

A 14-year-old boy, Abdullah Altaf, drowned near Chungi Amar Sadhu. Rescue 1122 confirmed his death upon recovery of the body. The victim was a street vendor.

In Gajjumata, a roof collapse of a house claimed the life of a young girl and injured six other people.

Additionally, a 30-year-old man was electrocuted after touching an electric pole in Nishat Colony due to the heavy rain.

A 41-year-old man, Ghulam Mustafa, accidently touched a wire and died of electric shock in the Defence area.

Two people were injured in another incident of roof collapse near the Shaukat Khanum Chowk.

According to Dr Rana Muhammad Atif, Senior Meteorologist at the Met Office, the rainfall reached 350mm at Lahore Airport Road.

The city's commissioner declared an emergency and said offices and schools would be shut for the day.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has reported that torrential rains and flash floods in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have claimed the lives of 24 individuals over the past three days.

The report highlights the severe impact of recent weather conditions, which have also resulted in significant property damage across the region.

Among the deceased are six men, six women, and 12 children, while 17 people have sustained injuries, including eight men, three women, and six children.

The heavy rains and resulting accidents have affected various districts, including Kohat, Bajaur, Upper and Lower Chitral, Upper Dir, Upper and Lower Kohistan, Abbottabad, Haripur, Swat, Charsadda, Swabi, Mohmand, South Waziristan, and Hangu.

The PDMA's report indicates that a total of 150 homes have been damaged, with 77 suffering partial damage and 73 completely destroyed.

Authorities have advised against travel to tourist spots until conditions improve, urging residents to exercise caution.

The PDMA, in collaboration with relevant agencies and district administrations, is closely monitoring the situation to ensure a coordinated response.

According to daily Federal Flood Commission Report, currently, the rivers Indus and Kabul are experiencing low flood in Kalabagh-Chashma reach and Warsak-Nowshera reach respectively owing to increased upstream flow due to persistent higher temperatures at Skardu. Other main rivers of Indus River System (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej) are running normal.

The combined live storage of country's three major reservoirs (Tarbela, Chasma and Mangla) stood at 9.203 million acre feet (MAF).

According to FFD, trough of Westerly Wave that was over Kashmir yesterday has shifted eastwards and now a fresh trough of strong Westerly Wave is present over Northern Iran and adjoining areas. The low pressure area that was over northwest Uttar Pradesh (India) has moved slightly Westwards and is now over East Haryana, while upper air circulation persists over West Bengal.

A well- marked seasonal low is situated over Northeastern Balochistan. Moderate to strong moist currents from both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are penetrating into the upper parts of Pakistan up to 5,000 feet.

Widespread thunderstorm rain of moderate to heavy intensity with scattered very heavy falls and isolated extremely heavy rainfall is expected over Punjab (Lahore and Gujranwala divisions) including upper catchments of rivers Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab during the next 24 hours. Scattered to widespread thunderstorm rain of moderate to heavy intensity with isolated very heavy falls may occur over Islamabad, Punjab (Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Multan D G Khan, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal and Faisalabad Divisions and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa during the said period.