Islamabad:
Almost half of the 266 deaths related to heavier monsoon rains than normal were children during their national school holidays, officials announced on Friday.
Most of the deaths took place in Punjab, the most populous province, where monsoon’s precipitation was 70% higher than last year, said Mazhar Hussain of the Provincial Management Management Agency in Punjab.
“Children are very vulnerable to this situation. They play in water, baths and electricity shocks can occur,” he told AFP.
“This is why their ratio is higher than the others, especially because it is a public holiday in Punjab, so schools and colleges are closed.”
The National Disaster Agency said on Friday that 266 people had been killed through Pakistan since the moon on June 26, including 126 children.
Sudden floods, collapse of buildings, lightning blows and drowning were among the causes of death.
Hundreds of others were injured.
A spokesperson for the agency told AFP this week that the heaviest rains generally start later in the monsoon season.
“Such death tolls are generally seen in August, but this year, the impact was clearly different,” she said.
The rains should be strengthened in August, warned the agency.
A landslide this week caused by torrential rains has won several cars in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, a popular tourist destination marked by imposing mountains, deep valleys and wide rivers.
At the end of June, at least 13 tourists were swept until their death when they reflect sudden floods on a raised bank.
The monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80% of its annual precipitation and takes place from late June to September in Pakistan.
