QUETTA: At least 11 people were killed and scores more people were injured in flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Pakistan’s south-western province of Balochistan, officials said on Sunday.
“Heavy rainfall on Friday triggered flash floods which swept away mud houses Lasbela district of Balochistan causing damage to life and property,” Hashim Ghilzai, a district administration official told AFP. “The rain had swept away 14 people and we have recovered 11 dead bodies today while three people are still missing,” he said.
Provincial disaster management authorities said twenty houses had been damaged by the flash floods. Abuzar Ghaffari, chief of paramilitary troops in the area, said they were searching for dead bodies with the help of sniffer dogs.
Poorly built homes across Pakistan, particularly in rural areas, are susceptible to collapse during the annual spring and monsoon rains in July-August, which are often heavy. Severe weather in recent years has killed hundreds and destroyed huge tracts of prime farmland.
The worst flooding in recent times occurred in 2010, when they covered almost a fifth of the country’s total landmass, killed nearly 2,000 people and displaced 20 million.
