31 killed in rain-triggered accidents in Pakistan
Xinhua, March 13, 2016 Adjust font size:
At least 31 people were killed and 47 others injured in separate rain-related accidents in Pakistan over the last three days, the authorities said Sunday.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said in a statement that the country's south Balochistan province was the worst hit where 17 people were killed, 15 others injured and 48 houses collapsed in separate incidents caused by torrential rains.
The northwest tribal area of the country also received heavy rains which caused several accidents of roof collapse.
The NDMA said that eight people were killed, 18 others injured and three houses collapsed in the heavy downpour in the area.
The authorities said that five laborers were killed and six others injured when a coal mine caved in due to landsliding caused by heavy rains in Orakzai area of the tribal belt.
Earlier media reports said that the coal mine accident left seven laborers killed and 10 others injured.
In the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, one man was killed, eight injured and two houses destroyed due to torrential rains.
The director general of Pakistani met office said that the current weather condition will persist till Monday morning and a new spell of rain is expected to hit the country from Wednesday.
He said that the new system would engulf the country from Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and other parts of the country which would continue till March 19.
He said that normally the country does not witness such a severe rain pattern in spring season, but due to El Nino climate cycles, the temperatures of the Pacific Ocean is warmer than normal.
These anomalies are the hallmark of El Nino climate cycles, which can influence weather patterns across the globe, he added. Enditem