LAHORE: A man died and three others were injured when the roof of a house collapsed during the heavy rain in Lahore on Wednesday, which also wreaked havoc in various other cities of Punjab, causing urban flooding in the low-lying areas and power outages.

Besides Lahore, several other cities, including Faisalabad, Bhawana, Khanewal, Hafizabad, Chiniot, Muridke, Jhang and Kalabagh also received heavy rain spells.

In Lahore, rainwater accumulated in different parts of the city, including The Mall, Lakshmi Chowk, Garhi Shaho, Civil Secretariat, Chauburji, Mazang, Chowk Nakhda, Ferozepur Road, Nishtar Town, Jail Road, Tajpura, Faisal Town, Iqbal Town, Garden Town and Canal Road.

According to data from the Lahore Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), several areas recorded high rainfall, which led to rainwater accumulation and traffic mess.

In Lahore, Tajpura SDO Office recorded the highest precipitation at 115mm, followed by Airport 109mm, Pani Wala Talab 99mm, Chowk Nakhuda 98mm, Upper Mall 97mm, Lakshmi Chowk 94mm, Jail Road 70mm, Wasa Head Office in Gulberg 59mm and Nishter Town 71mm, resulting in significant rainwater accumulation.

Wasa claimed to cleared rainwater from Shah Jamal, Waris Road, Cooper Road, Railway Station, Ali Block of Garden Town, Kareem Park on Ravi Road, Rasool Park on Shama Road, Wahdat Road, Tikka Chowk, Allah Hu Chowk, Ek Moria Pul, Qartaba Chowk, Lytton Road, Chauburji, Empress Road, Lakshami Chowk, Bhatti Gate, GPO, Nabha Road and Tajpura.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority has released a ‘monsoon fact sheet’ which includes the rainfall data.

According to the authority fact sheet, monsoon rainfall was recorded in most districts of Punjab in the last 24 hours. It says that Attock received 125mm rain, Jhelum 120mm, Rawalpindi 88mm, Mangla 72mm, Sheikhupura 70mm and Narowal received 64mm rain.

Lahore received about 100mm, Gujranwala 40mm, Faisalabad 43mm and Mianwali received up to 42mm rain. Hafizabad, Layyah, Bhakkar, Sialkot, Toba Tek Singh, Mandi Bahauddin, Sargodha, Okara, Kasur and Kamalia also received rainfall.

The fourth spell of the monsoon rains will continue till July 25.

Rains are predicted for Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha divisions on Thursday.

PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said that 136 people died and 488 others were injured, while 158 houses were affected, due to monsoon rains since June 25.

He said most of the deaths occurred due to the collapse of mud houses, dilapidated buildings and roofs. Deaths were also reported due to electrocution, lightning strikes and drowning incidents.

He said that financial assistance is being provided to the bereaved families who lost their members in rain-related incidents.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2025