Over 100 killed in Pakistan’s monsoon rains, floods — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 107 people have been killed, 344 others injured and hundreds of homes damaged in Pakistan since the onset of the monsoon season in late June, authorities said. Al Jazeera reported, citing Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded the highest death toll with 55 fatalities, followed by Punjab with 36. According to the NDMA, more than half of the victims died after houses and roofs collapsed during heavy rainfall. The report said authorities in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, had set up at least 17 emergency shelters for displaced families. A Punjab irrigation official described the flood situation as “very alarming”, saying about 400 square kilometres of Lahore and Gujranwala districts had been inundated. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said rescue teams and emergency services had been placed on high alert across the province to drain floodwaters and assist affected communities. Pakistan’s Meteorological Department said widespread flooding was unlikely before Tuesday, but forecast another spell of heavy rain from Wednesday in Islamabad, northern Punjab, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. The department said the Ravi River was flowing at a moderate flood level, while water levels in the country’s other major rivers remained normal or low. Pakistan experiences heavy monsoon rains every year, typically from late June to September, often triggering…