QUETTA / RAWALPINDI: At least five people lost their lives in different parts of Balochistan as heavy monsoon rains continued to batter the province on Sunday, with the Pakistan Meteorological Depar­t­ment (PMD) warning of more rain and landslides in several parts of the country.

Meanwhile, the cyclonic storm Asna has moved further south-westwards over the past 12 hours, weakening into a deep depression. The system is currently located around 320km northeast of Masirah Island in Oman, 340km east-southeast of that country’s capital Muscat, and 370km south of Gwadar.

Officials said the northern districts of Balochistan, including Chaman, Qila Abdullah, Harnai and Qila Saifullah, have been particularly hard hit, with torrential rains destroying homes and displacing hundreds as their mud houses were swept away by the floods.

“The link roads in these districts have been washed away by flash floods, cutting off all road connections with the provincial capital, Quetta,” a senior official from one of the affected districts told Dawn.

Met Office forecasts more rains across country; Cyclone Asna weakens

Tragedy struck on the Sibi-Harnai road, where a couple was found dead after their car was swept away by flash floods while attempting to cross the seasonal Beeji streams. Their bodies were later recovered by residents. The man was identified as Muhammad Ibrahim Khajak, an employee of the livestock department.

In Zhob, a child drowned, while two more deaths were reported in the flood-hit areas of Harnai and Qila Saifullah within the last 24 hours.

The situation in Jhal Magsi remained critical, with over a dozen villages submerged in floodwaters. Rescue efforts have been hampered by the lack of road access to the stranded families. Moreover, a large breach occurred in the Rabi canal in Nasirabad district, causing floodwaters to inundate several villages and wash away link roads.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Quetta has forecasted rain and thundershowers across several districts, including Quetta, Zhob, Sibi and Sherani, from Monday (today) to Wednesday, with occasional gaps. Sea conditions are likely to remain rough to very rough, with stormy winds of 40-50 km/h, gusting up to 60 km/h until Sunday night. Fishermen in Balochistan have been advised to avoid venturing into the open sea until Monday.

Upper parts and Punjab

The PMD has also predicted rain and thundershowers in the upper parts of the country, including Rawalpindi, Islam­abad, Murree, Galyat and Lahore, from Monday and Tuesday.

A moist current from the Bay of Bengal is expected to penetrate these regions, with a westerly wave likely to approach the western parts of the country in the evening today.

Wind and thundershowers, with isolated heavy falls, are also anticipated in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Battagram, Mansehra and Abbottabad, on Monday and Tuesday.

Sindh

Rain, wind and thundershowers are also expected in Sukkur, Larkana, Khairpur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Karachi, Hyder­abad, Thatta, Badin, Tando Allahyar, etc, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Faiza Ilyas in Karachi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2024