Islamabad, July 19 (EFE).- At least 12 people died while four suffered injuries on Wednesday due to the collapse of a wall of an under-construction underpass in the Pakistani capital, an official said.
Aftab Iqbal, a district-level officer in Islamabad, told EFE that a portion of concrete from the wall fell on laborers who were sleeping in makeshift camps in the capital on Wednesday morning.
He said 12 laborers were killed and four others injured in the incident.
Since the monsoon rains started on June 25, at least 111 people have died, and nearly 200 suffered injuries in Pakistan, ranked among the top 10 most-vulnerable countries to climate change.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department predicted heavy rains in different parts of the country from July 18 to July 23.
According to the weather department, monsoon winds from the Arabian Sea entered the upper and central regions of the country last evening before intensifying on Wednesday.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), rain-related incidents across Pakistan killed nearly 100 people, including 41 children, since June 25.
As per the authority, more than 130 houses have been damaged.
The heavy rains have forced authorities to evacuate over 14,000 people over the last several days after floodwaters from two rivers swollen by monsoon inundated dozens of villages in eastern Pakistan.
The inundation occurred after neighboring India diverted waters from dams into the Ravi River, which flows into Pakistan.
Sutlej River, which originates from India, overflowed too, inundating many villages in various parts of the Punjab province.
However, the flooding by the two rivers caused no casualties.
Although Pakistan contributes less than 1 percent of the greenhouse gases causing global warming, its location makes it extremely-vulnerable to climate change.
More than 7,000 glaciers, the highest outside the poles, are rapidly melting in the country due to climate impacts.
The country bears the brunt of two major weather systems – one causes high temperatures and droughts, and the other brings monsoon rains in the summer.
Last year, monsoon rains followed by floods affected 33 million people and killed 1,739 in Pakistan.
The calamity also caused $30 billion in damage to the country’s economy.
The monsoon season usually begins in July and continues until September in the South Asian country. EFE
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