More than 20 dead in fresh Pakistan monsoon rains: authorities
Ten people died in Karachi, the financial capital in the south, due to urban flooding that caused house collapses and electrocution. Eleven more died in the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
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Britain's King Charles sends condolences as Pakistan's monsoon death toll hits 750
KARACHI: King Charles III of the United Kingdom sent a message of sympathy to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, expressing sorrow over the human loss and devastation caused by monsoon rains in Pakistan, as the nationwide death toll climbed to 750 since the season began. The message came amid one of Pakistan's deadliest monsoon seasons in recent years, marked by erratic and increasingly intense weather patterns scientists attribute to global climate change. Annual rains are vital for agriculture and rural livelihoods, but rising temperatures have triggered more frequent and destructive flooding across South Asia. While the rains began in Pakistan earlier than usual on June 26, they intensified sharply on August 15 with powerful cloudbursts in northern Pakistan. Flash floods, landslides and collapsing homes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province alone have killed more than 380 people in under a week. According to a situation report released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Wednesday, 43 people were killed in the past 24 hours alone due to rain-related incidents across the country. 'The scale of devastation caused by this flooding is truly heart-breaking,' King Charles said in the message, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office. 'We feel for all those who have lost their loved ones, homes, and livelihoods.' 'With so many families in the UK maintaining close ties with Pakistan, we extend our heartfelt sympathy to them as well,' he added. 'We stand in solidarity with the people of Pakistan during this most difficult time.' The king also praised the efforts of emergency responders, volunteers, and local communities working to rescue and support those affected, calling their courage 'a candle in the darkness.' He extended special prayers and appreciation for the resilience of the flood-hit communities as they faced recovery and rebuilding challenges. The monsoon crisis in Pakistan is not confined to the north. The country's commercial hub Karachi was lashed by rain for a second straight day on Wednesday, inundating roads and bringing much of the city to a standstill. Local officials said 17 people were killed, mostly by electrocution and related accidents.
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Deadly monsoon season kills at least 1,860 in India, Pakistan
A deadly monsoon season has claimed at least 1,860 lives in India and Pakistan, with flash floods, landslides and inundated cities exposing the region's growing vulnerability to climate-related disasters. As the monsoon continues, heavy rains have left scenes of devastation across the subcontinent. A sudden downpour in the hilly Indian state of Uttarakhand washed away an entire village this month, while a cloudburst killed around 60 people in Jammu and Kashmir. Life in Mumbai, India's financial hub, came to a standstill this week as roads turned into canals, and in Pakistan, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province saw 180 deaths in a day. Climate change is intensifying South Asia's monsoon, a seasonal phenomenon that typically brings relief to farmers but increasingly carries severe consequences. Rising global temperatures are ramping up the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, cyclones and heat waves. With weeks of the monsoon season still remaining, the death toll could rise further. Rainfall in the country's northwestern region has been 12 percent above normal so far, and the India Meteorological Department has predicted 'heavy to very heavy' downpours at several locations this week. India has reported 1,109 deaths since late May, while 759 people have died in Pakistan since June 26, according to official figures from the neighboring countries. Many victims drowned, while others perished in landslides or collapsed homes. In India alone, drowning accounted for 484 deaths and floods for 116, the data showed, while 50,000 houses have been damaged, affecting hundreds of thousands people. Inadequate urban planning has compounded the crisis, with authorities struggling every year to manage the situation. Unregulated construction, poor maintenance of sewer systems and swelling populations have left many cities and towns vulnerable to flooding even when rainfall is not extreme, exposing chronic under-preparedness by local authorities. In the five days to Wednesday, the Santacruz weather station in Mumbai recorded 875 millimeters (34.4 inches) of rain, compared with 382 millimeters during the entire month of August last year, according to IMD data. Mumbai is highly prone due to its coastal location. Past disasters, such as the catastrophic floods in 2005 that killed more than 400 people, have shown how fast the city's roads, businesses, and neighborhoods can grind to a halt when heavy precipitation overwhelms drainage systems.
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