ISLAMABAD: The death toll from torrential rain in the country rose to 28 on Sunday after more homes collapsed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, meteorological officials said.

They said 17 people lost their lives over the past three days in Balochistan, while six died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and five in adjacent tribal areas.

Four women and six children were among the dead. More than 50 people were injured in both regions. Officials in the central province of Punjab said they were still estimating damage there.

“At least 17 people have died due to roofs and walls collapsing or being struck by lightning,” said Zahid Saleem, chief of Baluchistan's disaster management authority.

House collapses also accounted for most of the fatalities in KP, said a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa disaster management authority.

Two persons died in Bannu, one each in Malakand and Tank, while 11 received injuries in Mardan, four in Tank, two in Dir Lower and two in Peshawar.

Around 18 houses were also damaged in different parts of the province.

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast scattered rain with thundershower accompanied by strong gusty winds and isolated hailstorm in Kashmir, Islamabad, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan during the next 24 hours.

Weather expert Dr Muhammad Hanif said rain and snowfall over the hills would continue in Gilgit, Hunza, Murree and Galyat.

He warned that the prevailing weather conditions could cause landslide in vulnerable areas of Hazara division and Kashmir.

He said a new spell of rain would in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and north Balochistan would start within two days.

The present rain-spell, which started on Friday, is likely to persist till Monday morning while another spell is expected from Wednesday.

Recent rains have turned the weather cold and there is a considerable decrease in pollen counts in Islamabad.

According to the Met Office, heavy fall could generate flash flooding in Malakand, Hazara, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, Fata, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Lahore divisions and Kashmir during the next 24 hours.

Severe weather hits the country every year, with hundreds killed and huge tracts of prime farmland destroyed in recent years.

During the rainy season last summer, torrential downpours and flooding killed 81 people and affected almost 300,000 people across the country.