At least 34 people have been killed in torrential rains accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan.
The rains also injured over 100 people and damaged at least 69 houses. The authorities fear that the death toll may rise further.
The heavy rains that lashed the region on Saturday killed people in Bannu, Dikhan, Lakki Marwat, and Karak districts, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
The casualties occurred due to collapsing of walls and uprooting of trees in parts of southern districts.
More than 110 people who sustained injuries have been shifted to hospitals.
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The provincial government has released Rs 40 million for rehabilitation and relief activities.
Secretary Relief in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has directed the authorities concerned to expedite relief activities in the affected areas.
In a separate development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered officials to put in place emergency measures in advance for Cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea that is likely to cause flooding and rainstorms in low-lying areas of Karachi and Sindh province.
Pakistan's meteorological agency also issued an alert asking authorities to be prepared for Cyclone Biparjoy.
Earlier, experts predicted that the cyclone would spare Pakistan from any devastation and would only cause strong winds accompanied by rain in the coastal areas. But the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) issued an alert late on Saturday night which said the cyclone over the east-central Arabian Sea was maintaining its intensity and had further tracked north-northeastward during the past 12 hours.
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(With PTI inputs)
