Heavy rain kills at least 30 in Pakistan

Landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed at least 30 people in northern Pakistan and left many others trapped in the debris of their homes, disaster authorities said Friday.

At least 23 people were killed in the past 24 hours in mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, regional disaster management authorities said, while another seven were killed in neighbouring Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

A cloudburst washed away several houses in northwestern Bajaur district, killing 16 and stranding more than 20 others, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's disaster agency told AFP.

The meteorological department has also issued a heavy rain alert for the northwest, urging people to avoid "unnecessary exposure to vulnerable areas".

The annual monsoon season brings South Asia about three-quarters of its rainfall, vital for agriculture and food security, but it also brings destruction.

The torrential rains that have pounded Pakistan since the start of the summer monsoon, described as "unusual" by authorities, have killed more than 320 people, nearly half of them children.

Most of the deaths were caused by collapsing houses, flash floods and electrocutions.

In July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan's 255 million people, recorded 73 percent more rainfall than the previous year and more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon.

Landslides and flash floods are common during the monsoon season, which usually begins in June and eases by the end of September. But scientists say climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and more frequent.

In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.

Pakistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 255 million residents are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.