Punjab capital receives 360mm rains in three hours; three-day fatalities from K-P floods rise to 24.
**PESHAWAR/ ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE:**
Monsoon rains have intensified across Pakistan, with upper and northern regions experiencing record-breaking showers, causing flash floods, urban flooding, and destruction of mud houses.
**Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) Warnings:**
– Medium to high flood expected in rivers Jhelum, Kabul, Ravi, Indus, and Chenab between Friday and Monday.
– Medium to high flash flooding anticipated in DG Khan Division (Punjab) and the nullahs of Zhob, Sibbi, Nasirabad, and Kalat divisions (Balochistan).
**Lahore’s Record Rainfall:**
– Lahore received nearly 360mm (14 inches) of rain in three hours on Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 332mm in July 1980.
– The heavy rain caused hospital flooding, power outages, and submerged streets.
**Impact of Rainfall:**
– 24 people have died in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa due to rain-related incidents over the past three days.
– One person was electrocuted in Lahore.
– A 14-year-old boy drowned, and a young girl died in a roof collapse.
– Several incidents of electrocution and roof collapses resulted in injuries and deaths.
**Emergency Measures:**
– Lahore’s commissioner declared an emergency, shutting down offices and schools for the day.
– The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported significant property damage in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, with 150 homes damaged.
– Authorities advised against travel to tourist spots and urged residents to exercise caution.
**Federal Flood Commission Report:**
– Rivers Indus and Kabul are experiencing low floods due to upstream flow from higher temperatures at Skardu.
– The combined live storage of the country’s three major reservoirs (Tarbela, Chashma, and Mangla) stands at 9.203 million acre-feet (MAF).
**Weather Forecast:**
– A fresh trough of strong Westerly Wave over Northern Iran and moist currents from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are influencing Pakistan’s weather.
– Widespread moderate to heavy rain with very heavy falls expected in Punjab (Lahore and Gujranwala divisions), including upper catchments of rivers Sutlej, Ravi, and Chenab.
– Scattered to widespread rain in Islamabad, Punjab (Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Multan, DG Khan, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Faisalabad divisions), and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over the next 24 hours.
