Pre-monsoon rains have led to flooding in various parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, damaging houses and properties, flattening crops, disrupting the power and communication system and killing and injuring people. According to the Balochistan Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the road connecting a locality to Quetta in Sonari area of Kohlu was swept away by the floods and several bridges were damaged. Floods also swept away electricity poles in Kohlu and the downpour in Barkhan damaged crops. Many parts of the province continue to be lashed by rain, with reports of heavy showers in Sibi, Kohlu, Ziarat, Quetta, Chaman, Harnai, Loralai, Sherani, Musakhel, Barkhan and Zhob. Thunderstorms and gusty winds have been reported in Sibi, Kohlu, Ziarat, Quetta, Harnai, Loralai, Sherani, Musakhel, Barkhan, Zhob, Kalat and Khuzdar, it added. In Sibi, the PDMA said, four women and a man were killed when raging torrents swept away a truck on Sunday. According to Levies, the tragedy took place when the truck tried to cross the Beji river despite heavy flooding. “The truck was carrying about 25 people and their livestock,” according to Bahadur Khan, an eyewitness who was injured in the accident. Citing the Met Office, the PDMA statement said the current spell of pre-monsoon rains in Balochistan was expected to continue till Wednesday (tomorrow). Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Disaster Management Authority issued a report on Monday, stating that three children were injured in rain-related incidents in the province over the past 24 hours. According to the report, the children were injured when the roof of a house collapsed due to heavy rain in the province’s Dera Ismail Khan area. Moreover, three cattle head were killed in the incident, the report said. On Monday, the PDMA said the flow of rivers was normal in the province; however, a glacial lake outburst flooding was reported in the remote Ishperu Gol area of Terich village of Upper Chitral that damaged a 50kV micro-hydel power station in the area. The PDMA also said between Sunday and Monday, the Kalkot Daba Road in Upper Dir as well as the Swat-Shangal main road in Machar area of Alpuri of Shangla district had been blocked due to a landslide but were later cleared. Earlier, the National Disaster Management Authority had warned of a new rain spell triggering landslides in vulnerable areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Galyat, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan between Monday and Wednesday under the effect of a new weather system. Winds and rain were also expected in Sukkur, Larkana, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Karachi, Dera Bugti, Jaffarabad, Naseerabad, Labella and Khuzdar from June 21 (evening/night) to June 22, a statement by the NDMA said. Travelers have been advised to remain extra cautious during the forecast period and avoid unnecessary journeys, it said. On Tuesday, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman also said large parts of the country could face floods in the aftermath of torrential rains in the coming days, adding that there was a “clear risk of flooding in Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Islamabad and other big cities”.The warning from the minister came in a statement that also carried directives for relevant federal and provincial departments to take measures to deal with any potential disasters.”Directives have been issued for mobilizing resources and emergency planning on the district level to deal with [potential] floods,” the statement read. In the statement, Rehman specifically cautioned against possible “dangers” in urban areas as a result of torrential rains and said Pakistan was likely to witness rains in the current monsoon season at least till August. “It is expected that Punjab and Sindh will receive above-average rainfall,” she added. The minister said there was also a likelihood of flooding in rivers, streams and nullahs in the country. “Some forecasts even predict that Pakistan may have to face a flood-like situation similar to the one in 2010,” she said.