Torrential rains in Pakistan leave 25 dead, 145 injured

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Heavy rains swept through Pakistan's northwest on Saturday, causing several houses to collapse and leaving at least 25 people dead and 145 injured, authorities said.

Rains and hail hit the Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, senior rescue officer Khateer Ahmed said, uprooting trees and knocking down electrical transmission towers.

Officials were working to provide emergency relief to the injured, Ahmed said.

Last year, monsoon rains and flooding devastated Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people, affecting around 33 million people and displacing nearly 8 million.

To mitigate the effects of natural disasters, the government in its national budget draft presented on Friday allocated $1.3 billion for climate resilience.

On Saturday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives from the storm and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families, the Prime Minister's Office said on Saturday night.

Sharif directed the National Disaster Management Authority and local authorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to carry out relief work in the affected areas.

Sharif also ordered officials to put in place emergency measures ahead of the approaching Cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea.

The "severe and intense" cyclone with wind speeds of 150 kilometers per hour was on a course toward the country's south, the disaster management agency said.

Agencies - Xinhua