At least 107 people have died and 344 others have been injured across Pakistan since the beginning of the monsoon season in late June, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported on Sunday. The agency stated that the deaths and injuries were a result of heavy rains and subsequent flooding, which have also damaged hundreds of homes.
According to the data released by the NDMA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has recorded the highest number of fatalities with 55, while Punjab province has reported 36 deaths. The authority noted that more than half of the deaths were caused by incidents related to structural damage, such as house and roof collapses.
In Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, the flooding has led to significant displacement. Authorities in Lahore, the provincial capital, have established at least 17 flood relief camps to shelter evacuated residents, according to a report from the Dawn newspaper.
A senior official at the Punjab Irrigation Department, who was not named, described the extent of the flooding to Dawn, stating that an area of approximately 400 square kilometers (154 square miles) was underwater across the Lahore and Gujranwala divisions. “The current situation resembles an inland sea because of the vast expanse of floodwater,” the official was quoted as saying.
Government officials have initiated response efforts in the affected areas. Punjab’s Chief Minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, announced on the social media platform X that emergency responders were deployed across the province. She added that teams were actively engaged in operations to drain floodwaters.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a forecast on Sunday, indicating that while no significant flood-generating activity was expected until Tuesday, a “fresh wet spell is likely to commence” from Wednesday. The new weather system is expected to affect the upper catchments of all major rivers, impacting areas including Islamabad, upper Punjab, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
The department also reported on the status of the country’s rivers, noting that the Ravi River was flowing at a “medium flood level.” Most other major rivers were reported to be flowing at normal or low levels. The monsoon season in the region typically continues until September.
