Heavy Rains Cause Six Deaths, 25 Injuries in Balochistan
Heavy Rains Cause Six Deaths, 25 Injuries in Balochistan Heavy rains in Balochistan over the past five days have tragically claimed six lives and left 25 others injured, according to a report by Geo News on Sunday.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has announced the closure of the N-70 highway connecting Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to the severe weather conditions. Landslides triggered by heavy rains in the Koh-e-Suleman mountain range have stranded numerous vehicles at Dhana Sar.
Traffic from Peshawar, Swat, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi has been diverted to Dera Ismail Khan, with the Zhob-DI Khan Road blocked at Dhana Sar due to rainfall in Zhob and Sherani districts. Local administrations in Zhob and Qilla Saifullah have been instructed to halt traffic flow.
Rescue and relief teams have been mobilized by the PDMA to assist stranded travelers.
The downpour extends across various parts of the country, including Islamabad, Murree, Gujranwala, Sialkot, and several areas in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan such as Khuzdar, Awaran, and Lasbela, as forecasted by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).
The Met Office attributes the current weather pattern to moist currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, resulting in thunderstorms and gusty winds affecting southern and eastern regions, including Sindh.
This is the latest instance of heavy rains causing significant impact in Balochistan in 2024. In April, the provincial government declared a rain and flood emergency following heavy rainfall that caused casualties and landslides in various districts. Earlier in March, Gwadar faced torrential rains leading to fatalities and prompting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to announce a relief package during his visit to the affected city.