At least seven people died and 46 others were injured in rain-related incidents across Punjab, as heavy monsoon showers lashed several districts of the province over the last 24 hours, rescuers and disaster-management authorities said on Thursday.
According to the Rescue 1122 – Punjab's emergency rescue service – 39 people were brought to various hospitals. Among them, it added, two people died each in Jhelum, and Muzaffargarh districts and one each in Okara, Bahawalnagar and Khanewal.
Okara was worst affected, eight emergencies were reported, a spokesperson said. Four emergencies were reported in Multan, two each in Faisalabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhang and Chiniot and one each in Lahore, Kasur, Jhelum, Sahiwal, Murree, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalnagar and Khanewal.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had forecast an early onset of monsoon spell across the country from June 25 to July 1. As expected, Punjab received a record rain showers during the last 24 hours, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) stated.
Maximum rain was recorded in Faisalabad, where 98 millimetres (mm) was recorded in GMA Town; and 91mm in Madina Town. Kasur received 63mm of rain, while Lahore's Nishtar Town and Sheikhupura city each recorded 50mm. Lahore's airport registered 24mm while 15mm was recorded in other areas.
In other cities of Punjab, Joharabad recorded 48mm; Sargodha, 45mm; Chakwal, 28mm; Chiniot, 22mm; Rawalpindi, 18mm; Narowal, 17mm; Attock, 12mm; and Gujrat and Mianwali, 10mm each. besides, 5mm of rain was recorded in Muzaffargarh, in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the PDMA spokesperson said.
In Okara, Rescue Punjab Spokesperson Farooq Ahmed said, 5-year-old Dua Fatima died and 2 people were injured when a bamboo roof collapsed in Basti Riazabad. He said that that one person was injured when lightning struck 28/2R.
In the district, five people were injured in roof-collapse incidents on Hujra Shah Muqim, Samadpura, Basti Sheikh, Adda Gambar and 21/DG. Similar roof-collapse incidents were also reported from Multan Faisalabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Shorkot, Lahore, Kasur, Sahiwal, Chiniot, Muzaffargarh, injuring 23.
Two people died after a loader rickshaw overturned and fell into a storm drain in Jhelum. three people died in a wall-collapse incident in Muzaffargarh and Bahawalnagar. One person died after a roof collapsed in Bahawalnagar; one person died and another injured after a lightning strike in Khanewal.
Two children were injured after being electrocuted from and an electric pole in Mandi Bahauddin. Five people were injured after a high-roof van collided with oil tanker collided in Murree, according to the data provided by the rescue officials.
The highways police spokesperson said that rain lashed the motorways and the national highways in the Central Region, including Lahore-Kot; Lahore-Khanewal; Lahore-Sialkot motorway sections. The National Highway in Manga Mandi, Pattoki and Okara also received heavy rain.
Meanwhile, the National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC) of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued impact-based alerts due to expected widespread monsoon rainfall and associated flooding risks across several regions of the country.
The NDMA warned that heavy rain, wind and thunderstorms are likely in multiple Punjab districts including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Mianwali, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Multan, Rajanpur, and Islamabad during June 26-28 period.
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