(File photo: ANI)
At least two women were killed and several others injured in Balochistan’s Noshki district after a passenger waggon skidded on a rain-soaked highway and collided with an oncoming truck, Dawn reported. The vehicle was travelling from Quetta to Chagai when the crash occurred near the Sher Jan Agha area.Five passengers sustained injuries, with two shifted to Quetta for critical care. Hospital officials said at least eight people hurt in rain-related incidents were brought to the Civil Hospital.The rainfall, which began on Saturday, ended a prolonged dry spell in the Quetta valley, offering brief relief to drought-hit farmers. However, it also caused widespread disruption. Despite forecasts ruling out significant rainfall, showers intensified by noon, flooding roads, halting traffic and plunging large parts of Quetta into darkness after electricity supplies were suspended. Mobile networks were also disrupted, leaving residents without communication for hours.
Low-lying neighbourhoods, particularly areas with mud houses and weak construction, were badly affected as rainwater entered homes. Heavy rainfall was reported across several districts, including Ziarat, Pishin, Kalat, Zhob, Mastung and Sibi, with power outages lasting for hours in many areas.
Water crisis deepens public health risks
Meanwhile, experts warned that Pakistan’s water-quality crisis is worsening. Speaking at a seminar organised by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) in Islamabad, specialists said only 47 per cent of the population has access to safe drinking water, according to The Express Tribune.Dr Hifza Rasheed of the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources said per capita freshwater availability has dropped from 5,260 cubic metres in 1951 to below 1,000 cubic metres in 2024, placing Pakistan among water-scarce nations. Unsafe water, experts said, accounts for nearly 40 per cent of illnesses nationwide and contributes to tens of thousands of child deaths each year.
