Record-breaking rain kill at least four, injure seven in Lahore

LAHORE: Heavy monsoon rainfall on Thursday broke 44-year record in Lahore and left at least four people dead and seven others wounded with hospitals flooded, power interrupted and streets submerged in the metropolis home to 13 million.

The second-largest city of Pakistan was lashed by almost 360 millimetres of rain which flooded hospitals, interrupted power and submerged streets in the metropolis home to 13 million, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said.

Today's rain broke a previous record of 332 millimetres over three hours in July 1980.

The heavy downpours resulted in several casualties and damages to the properties and paralysing infrastructure in different parts of the provincial capital.

A youth was electrocuted near an electricity pole in Nishat Colony, whereas, a 14-year-old boy was drowned in rainwater in Kot Lakhpat area, rescue officials told Geo News. Moreover, another man was killed by electrocution due to an exposed wire in Defence Phase VII.

A girl was killed and five others sustained injuries in a roof collapse incident at a house in Nishtar Colony. In another incident, a wooden roof collapsed near Shaukat Khanum Chowk, leaving two citizens wounded.

According to the rescue workers, seven goats were killed after being buried under the debris of a collapsed wall in Kahna — a suburban town in Lahore — following heavy showers.

"This was record-breaking rainfall," the national weather agency's deputy director Farooq Dar told AFP.

Commenting on the situation in Lahore, Sardar Sarfaraz, chief meteorologist at the PDM, termed the rains "torrential".

He added that there are heavy rains across Lahore. "There were more rains in Sindh compared to Punjab. But this was expected."

"This spell is expected to see a fall in its intensity, but it will keep raining intermittently till today evening as there's a substantial cloud mass. From August 1-6 several parts of the country will see rain," he said.

The PMD had forecast a wetter-than-usual monsoon season this year in 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 the country´s mountainous northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said.

As the torrential rains brought disasters to the provincial capital, the city's commissioner declared an emergency and announced offices and schools would be shut for the day.

Two government hospitals in the city near the Indian border reported flooding in their wards, and there were intermittent power outages continuing into the afternoon.

Roads were also submerged, bringing traffic and businesses to a standstill.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Sharif said on social media site X that "the entire government machinery is in the field" to drain the water.

The summer monsoon brings to South Asia about 70 to 80% of the region's annual rainfall between June and September.

It is vital for agriculture, but changing weather patterns which scientists attribute to climate change are putting both lives and livelihoods at risk.

Earlier this year Pakistan — which is home to 240 million — was hit by a succession of heatwaves and this April was the wettest since 1961.

At least 143 people died in Pakistan from lightning strikes and other storm-related incidents in April.

In neighbouring India, at least 160 people, most believed to be labourers and their families, have been killed by torrential rains causing landslides in the southern coastal state of Kerala.

In 2022, a third of Pakistan was submerged by unprecedented monsoon rains that displaced millions of people and cost $30 billion, according to a World Bank estimate.

— With additional input from AFP