Massive floods caused by untimely rain kill at least 50 in Pakistan

At least 50 people have died in Pakistan afterheavy rains triggered massive floods that have destroyed houses andcrops, officials said on Wednesday, as the South Asian nationstruggles to deal with these deadly effects of global warming. Most of the deaths were caused by gushing waters flowing down intovalleys from mountains and winds bellowing at a very high speed, saidReema Zuberi, spokeswoman for the national disaster agency. Nearly 150 injured people were being treated at hospital, whereauthorities had declared an emergency.The north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan inthe south-west were worse hit, with several towns were inundated,Zuberi added. Military and rescue agencies were evacuating stranded people in townsand villages of Balochistan, local rescue worker Mohamed Younas said.The wheat crop on hundreds of hectares of land was destroyed in thecentral province of Punjab, known as the food basket of Pakistan.Hundreds of villagers were being evacuated to safety in the DeraGhazi Khan region as large swathes of land had been submerged, localpolice chief Haroon Rashid said. The government has put the military and rescue agencies on high alertas more rains were predicted, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhrysaid.The floods usually hit South Asia in monsoon season, which beginsfrom July and lasts until the end of August. Experts attribute theuntimely rains to global warming. Floods and weather-related incidents kill hundreds of people everyyear in Pakistan, which faces imminent threat from climate change dueto its proximity with highly industrialised China and India.