Flooding in Pakistan kills dozens as heavy rains lash the country

Intense floods killed dozens of people and left hundreds homeless in Pakistan, officials said on Saturday, as heavy monsoon rains battered the country.

In the southern province of Balochistan, 57 people, including women and children, were killed after being swept away in flood waters, according to Ziaullah Langove, the disaster and home affairs advisor to the province’s chief minister, adding that eight dams had burst due to the heavy rains.

Hundreds more were left homeless after their homes collapsed in the rain and flooding, he said, adding monsoon rains were continuing.

In north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province two people, including a six-year-old, died and four were injured when their house collapsed due to rain, according to a district official statement.

In 2010, the worst floods in memory affected 20 million people in Pakistan, with damage to infrastructure running into billions of dollars and huge swathes of crops destroyed as one fifth of the country was inundated.