Heavy rains combined with strong winds have killed at least 27 people, including eight children, in north-west Pakistan. Most of the fatalities were due to collapsing buildings, local authorities said on Sunday.
“At least 12 people were buried after the roofs and walls of their homes collapsed,” Taimur Ali Khan, spokesman for the provincial disaster management agency (PDMA), told AFP.
Fifteen people were killed in Bannu district, including five siblings between the ages of two and eleven. More than 140 people were injured and more than 200 livestock died, the spokesman said.
Bad weather hit four districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province late on Saturday, prompting local authorities to declare a state of emergency.
Authorities have also announced that a cyclone from the Arabian Sea is approaching Pakistan and India.
In a statement from the Sindh Provincial Civil Protection Agency, she warned that very heavy rains and wind speeds of up to 100 km/h were to be expected in the coming week.
“Fishermen are advised not to venture out to sea” until this meteorological event ends “until June 17,” the press release said.
Last summer, Pakistan was hit by unprecedented monsoon rains that killed more than 1,700 people, flooded a third of the country and damaged two million homes.