Authorities say 34 people injured after downpour sets off landslides and flash floods in Kyber Pakhtunkhwa province

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

At least 45 people have been killed and 34 injured after heavy rain across north-west Pakistan caused the roofs of dozens of homes to collapse, officials have said.

The deaths were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during a downpour that began on Saturday night, a provincial disaster management agency spokesman said on Sunday.

The worst-hit area was Kohistan, where 12 deaths were reported, followed by Shangla district, where rains and landslides killed 10 people.

Poorly built homes, particularly in rural areas, are most susceptible to collapse during heavy spring rain.

“We’re left on our own. Nobody from the government is coming to help us,” said Habib Khan, a resident of the northern Swat valley, talking to a local TV news channel.

The channel showed damaged houses and submerged streets in the valley and other parts of the northwestern province.

Severe weather hits the country every year, with hundreds killed and huge tracts of prime farmland having been destroyed in recent years.

During the rainy season last summer, torrential downpours and flooding killed 81 people and affected almost 300,000 people across the country.

Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report