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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Lightning and heavy rains led to 14 deaths in Pakistan, officials said Wednesday, bringing the death toll from four days of extreme weather to at least 63.
Most of the deaths were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan's northwest. Collapsing buildings have killed 32 people, including 15 children and five women, said Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the Disaster Management Authority. Dozens more were also injured in the northwest, where 1,370 houses were damaged, Anwar said.
The eastern province of Punjab has reported 21 lighting- and collapse-related deaths, while Baluchistan, in the country's southwest, reported 10 dead as authorities declared a state of emergency following flash floods. On Wednesday, Baluchistan was bracing for more rains amid ongoing rescue and relief operations.
Heavy rains also came down on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Pakistan is seeing heavier rain in April due to climate change, said Zaheer Ahmed Babar, a senior official at the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
“So far there has been 256% above normal rainfall in Baluchistan," Babar told The Associated Press. “Overall, there has been 61% above normal rainfall this month across Pakistan, and it shows climate change has already happened in our country.”
In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point flooded a third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damages, from which Pakistan is still trying to rebuild.
Neighboring Afghanistan also witnessed heavy rains this month. So far, 33 people have died in rain-related incidents there.