Floods caused by monsoon rains washed out roads in southern Pakistan and blocked a major highway in the north, officials said on Monday, taking the death toll from rain-related incidents since July 1 to 209.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority official Irfan Ali said 14 people have died in Punjab province in the past 24 hours. Most of the other deaths have occurred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces.
The annual monsoon season in Pakistan runs from July to September. Scientists and weather forecasters have blamed climate change for heavy rains in recent years. In 2022, heavy rains caused by climate change inundated a third of the country, killing 1,739 people and causing $30 billion in damage.
Senior Pakistan Meteorological Department official Zaheer Ahmad Babar said the latest round of heavy rains will continue in many parts of the country this week. Heavy rains in southern Pakistan have flooded roads in Sukkur district of Sindh province.
Efforts were underway to free the key Karakoram Highway in the north from landslides, officials said. Flash floods also damaged some bridges in the north, disrupting traffic.
The government has advised tourists to avoid the affected areas.
More than 2,200 houses have been damaged across Pakistan since July 1, when monsoon rains began, the National Disaster Management Authority said.
Neighbouring Afghanistan has also been hit by rain and flooding since May, killing more than 80 people. Three people died on Sunday when their vehicle was swept away by floods in Ghazni, according to provincial police.