At least two more people died in a rain-related incident in Punjab on Saturday, taking the province’s death toll for the past four days to 14, according to rescue officials and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

Monsoon rains across the region offer respite from the summer heat and are vital for agriculture and food security. Weather-related incidents are common during the season, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and severity.

Two people died while four were wounded in a roof collapse incident reported at 3:20am in the Abbas Nagar area of Lahore’s Shahdara Town, Rescue 1122 said in a statement today.

It noted that the house was single-storied and the roof was made of mud. The bodies were taken to Shahdara Hospital, where some of the injured were also taken, while others wounded were brought to Mayo Hospital.

Separately, eight children were among 12 dead while 39 others were injured in various rain-related incidents across Punjab since Wednesday, according to a PDMA report issued today.

From Wednesday to Friday, 25 incidents were reported in various cities, which rose to 28 today, a statement by the PDMA spokesperson said.

Most of the cases involved wall and roof collapses due to torrential rains, accounting for nine out of 12 lives lost during the four-day period, according to the report.

In Kasur, two children died from a roof collapsing while another two lost their lives in a wall collapse incident. One child each died in roof collapse incidents in Okara, Bahawalnagar and Faisalabad.

In Wazirabad, a wall collapsing killed a man and a child, along with injuring a woman and another minor.

In Jhelum, the PDMA report said, two men “drowned in a rainwater nullah”. A recent report detailed that a loader rickshaw fell into a storm drain on an inundated road.

The PDMA report also mentioned a lightning incident in Khanewal that took the life of a man.

Other districts where casualties were reported were Mandi Bahauddin, Sahiwal, Chiniot, Multan, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib. Separately, a cow perished in Rahim Yar Khan after a tree fell due to a windstorm.

Irfan Ali Kathia, the PDMA director general, issued directives to provide medical assistance to the injured as well as financial aid to their relatives.

In a statement, he also requested citizens to avoid non-essential travel during inclement weather conditions.

“Do not live in dilapidated houses,” he advised. “Take care of the children [and] do not let them go near the rainwater drains, electric wires and poles.”

Monsoon rains have commenced in Punjab and the first spell will continue till July 1, the PDMA said earlier this week, adding that rainfall with strong winds and thunderstorms are predicted in most districts of the province.

Punjab is predicted to receive 25 per cent more monsoon rains this year, Kathia said on Wednesday.

In case of emergency, citizens are directed to call the PDMA helpline at 1129.