QUETTA: The death toll from heavy rains that have battered Balochistan over the past five days has risen to six, with 25 others injured in various incidents across the province as of Sunday.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported that the N-70 highway, which connects Balochistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been closed to traffic.
Due to landslides caused by heavy rains in the Koh-e-Suleman mountain range of eastern Balochistan, numerous vehicles are stranded at Dhana Sar. Traffic from Peshawar, Swat, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi has been instructed to halt at Dera Ismail Khan.
The Zhob-Dera Ismail Khan Road is also blocked at Dhana Sar due to rains in Zhob and Sherani. The administrations of Zhob and Qilla Saifullah have been directed to stop the flow of traffic.
The PDMA has dispatched teams for rescue and relief operations for the stranded travelers.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), several areas across the country, including Islamabad, Murree, Guliat, Gujranwala, Narowal, Sialkot, Balakot, Mansehra, Abbottabad, and Swat, are likely to experience rain today.
Additionally, parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan's Khuzdar, Awaran, and Lasbela are expected to receive downpours.
Earlier this week, the Met Office reported that moist currents from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are bringing thundershowers with gusty winds to parts of Sindh and other provinces.
This isn't the first instance in 2024 where heavy rains have caused loss of life and landslides in Balochistan.
In April, the provincial government declared a rain and flood emergency due to continuous heavy rains, resulting in several casualties. In March, torrential rains in Gwadar prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to announce a relief package during his visit to the city, where over 40 people were killed in various incidents.
