LAHORE, July 22: Widespread rain, torrential at some places, continued to lash most of Punjab, the NWFP and the Northern Areas on Sunday, and the Met office forecasts that its intensity and spatial coverage would subside during the next 24 hours.

In Punjab, the most hit city was Sargodha where 138mm of rain was recorded during the past 36 hours. It was followed by Marala near Sialkot which received 119mm rain.

Sargodha had also received 208mm of rain in a single day last month.

The rain, generated by a widespread strong westerly system and carrying moisture from the Arabian Sea, was accompanied by strong winds and thunderstorm in many cities, especially those in Kashmir, the NWFP and the Northern Areas.

It remained cloudy to partly cloudy in Lahore throughout the day on Sunday but a sudden cloudburst in the evening made weather pleasant, making breeze a bit cold and soothing.

The low-lying areas were inundated and many a localities faced power breakdowns soon after the rain.

National Flood Forecasting Division (NFFD) Chief Shaukat Awan said all the rivers in Punjab could be flooded had there been any monsoon depression or even low pressure from the Bay of Bengal. “The westerly system was very strong and fortunately there was no strong monsoon system to enhance its strength,” he added.

He said there was a lot of thunderstorm activity over Azad Kashmir, the NWFP and up to Islamabad which showed the strength of the westerly system. There was land-sliding and flooding of low-lying areas in these areas.

The residual moisture in the air could generate sudden cloudbursts in the hilly areas like Murree during night time, he said.

The NFFD in its forecast said rain of moderate intensity with occasionally strong winds might occur over the NWFP, Kashmir and Punjab along with northeast Balochistan during the next 24 hours.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said the current analysis suggested widespread rains accompanied by dust, thunderstorm during the next three to four days in Punjab, the Northern Areas, Kashmir, the NWFP and Islamabad, including catchment areas of the Punjab rivers.

These rains could be heavy at times, especially in upper parts of the country.

According to the NFFD report, during the past 36 hours Kakul received 63mm of rain, Domel 44mm, Sehrakota 42mm, Sharaqpur near Lahore 40mm, Murree 80mm, Joharabad 34mm, Muzafarabad 33mm, Balakot 38mm, Tarbela 23mm, Gharhi Habibullah and Shinkiari 22mm, Sialkot, Pattan and Barkhan 21mm each, Garhi dopatta and Zhob 20mm each, Dera Ismail Khan 59mm, Faisalabad 56mm, Jhang 35mm, Abbotabad 34mm, Okara 28mm, Kalam 25mm, Malamjaba 21mm, Zhob 20mm, Padidan 16mm, Khanpur 13mm, and Islamabad got 10mm of rain.