ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Almost half of the over 270 deaths linked to heavier-than-normal this year’s monsoon rains were children, according to the reports.
Children in most part of the country are on their annual school holidays. The officials said that most of the deaths occurred in Punjab, the most populous province, where monsoon rainfall has been 70 percent higher than that of 2024.
Mazhar Hussain from the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Agency said, “Children are very vulnerable to this situation. They are playing in the water, bathing, and electricity shocks can happen.”
That’s why the children made up half of the total deaths, especially when it’s a holiday in Punjab and schools and colleges are closed, he added.
The National Disaster Management Authority said on Friday that 266 people had been killed across the country since the monsoon hit on June 26, with 126 of them children, making almost 50 percent of the total deaths.
Flash floods, lightning strikes, building collapses, and drownings were among the causes of death.
Monsoon season
The heaviest rains usually start later in the monsoon season and such deaths are usually seen in August, but this year the impact has been markedly different, said an NDMA official.
Rains are likely to intensify in August, the disaster management agency has warned.
A torrential rains-caused landslide this week swept away several cars in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, a popular tourist destination marked by towering mountains, deep valleys and wide rivers.
In late June, at least 13 tourists were swept away in a river while sheltering from flash floods on a raised river bank.
It is to be noted that monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, and runs from late June until September in Pakistan.
