Heavy rains hit Pakistan’s south, as deaths from flash floods and downpours jump to 209 since July

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Flash floods triggered by the latest spell of monsoon rains flooded streets in southern Pakistan and blocked a key highway in the north, officials said Monday, as the death toll from rain-related incidents rose to 209 since July 1.

Fourteen people died in various parts of Punjab province in the past 24 hours, Irfan Ali, an official at the provincial disaster management authority said.

Pakistan is in the middle of the annual monsoon season, which runs from July through September. Scientists and weather forecasters have blamed climate change for heavy rains in recent years.

Most of the deaths occurred in the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Sindh provinces.

The ongoing rains, however, are weaker compared to 2022, when climate-induced downpours swelled rivers and inundated one-third of the country at one point, killing 1,739 people and causing $30 billion in damage.

Zaheer Ahmed Babar, a senior official at Pakistan Meteorological Department, said that the latest heavy spell of rains would continue this week in various parts of the country. The heavy downpour in southern Pakistan has flooded streets in Sukkur district, Sindh province, where authorities are evacuating affected people to safer places.

Babar said that Sukkur and other areas in the south received heavy amounts of rain the previous day.

Authorities said that efforts were underway to clear a key Karakorum highway in the north, blocked at various places because of the landslides. Flash floods have damaged some bridges in the north, disrupting traffic.

The government advised tourists to avoid visits to the affected areas.

More than 2,200 homes have been damaged across Pakistan since July 1, when the monsoon rains began, the National Disaster