Heavy rains kill five, injure dozens in Balochistan, KP

WEB DESK: At least five people were killed and 28 others injured in rain and lightning-related incidents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, as authorities warned of looming flash floods, glacial lake outbursts and landslides over the coming days.

In Balochistan’s Zhob district and surrounding areas, torrential rain and strong winds caused three separate house collapses, killing at least three people and injuring 10 others, rescue officials said.

Meanwhile, severe weather caused casualties and infrastructural damage across multiple districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the Khyber district, a fatal lightning strike during a heavy thunderstorm killed two children and injured three others, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

In Upper Dir’s Wari area, lightning struck an educational institution in the Asori Dara region, injuring 15 female students.

Officials said that three of the injured students are in critical condition and have been shifted to a hospital for specialized treatment.

The PDMA further reported that torrential rain and a cloudburst in Lower Chitral damaged 27 houses, while flash floods impacted two mosques, two shops, a bridge, and four vehicles.

In Upper Chitral’s Yarkhun area of Mastuj, flash floods damaged irrigation canals and an additional house.

Meanwhile, rain accompanied by strong winds brought a sharp drop in temperature to Islamabad on Wednesday.

However, the squall uprooted several trees across the capital, crushing parked vehicles in the F-7 Sector.

Authorities said that emergency staff had been deployed to clear the debris and rescue the affected vehicles.

NDMA warns of floods, glacial lake outbursts

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued an advisory warning of a heightened risk of flooding due to potential glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) events in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The authority stated that rising temperatures combined with monsoon rainfall are expected to accelerate glacier melt, drastically increasing the risk of sudden floods, debris flows, and landslides.

The NDMA cautioned that water flows in mountainous and rain-fed streams are likely to surge between July 1 and July 4, warning that flood-like conditions could develop in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Low-lying urban areas in cities including Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Dir, and Chitral may experience rising water levels in local streams.

Similar risks have been flagged for major Punjab cities, including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot, and Gujranwala, while flash flooding remains a threat in Balochistan’s Zhob, Sherani, Musakhel, Barkhan, and Sibi districts.

The NDMA further warned that hill torrents in the mountainous terrains of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan could swell rapidly, threatening low-lying areas with severe waterlogging and structural disruptions.