WEB DESK: At least five people were killed and 28 others injured in rain and lightning-related incidents across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, as authorities warned of flash floods, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and landslides in the coming days.

In Balochistan’s Zhob district and adjoining areas, torrential rain and strong winds triggered the collapse of three houses, killing at least three people and injuring 10 others, rescue officials said.

In Khyber district, two children were killed and three others injured after lightning struck during a heavy thunderstorm, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

In Upper Dir’s Wari area, lightning hit an educational institution in the Asori Dara region, injuring 15 female students. Officials said three of the injured students were in critical condition and had been shifted to a hospital for specialised treatment.

The PDMA said a cloudburst and heavy rainfall in Lower Chitral damaged 27 houses, while flash floods affected two mosques, two shops, a bridge and four vehicles.

In Upper Chitral’s Yarkhun area of Mastuj, flash floods also damaged irrigation canals and a house.

Meanwhile, rain accompanied by strong winds brought a sharp drop in temperature in Islamabad, where several trees were uprooted, crushing parked vehicles in the F-7 sector.

Authorities said emergency teams had been deployed to remove fallen trees and clear affected areas.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has also issued an advisory warning of an increased risk of flooding due to possible glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) events in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The authority said rising temperatures combined with monsoon rainfall were expected to accelerate glacier melting, increasing the risk of flash floods, debris flows and landslides.

According to the NDMA, water flows in mountainous and rain-fed streams are likely to rise significantly between July 1 and July 4, creating flood-like conditions in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The authority warned that low-lying urban areas in Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Dir and Chitral could experience rising water levels in local streams.

Similar risks have been identified for Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot and Gujranwala in Punjab, while flash flooding remains a threat in Balochistan’s Zhob, Sherani, Musakhel, Barkhan and Sibi districts.

The NDMA further cautioned that hill torrents in the mountainous regions of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan could swell rapidly, posing a threat of severe waterlogging and damage to infrastructure in low-lying areas.