At least two women were killed and several others injured in Pakistan’s Balochistan after a passenger waggon skidded on a rain-soaked highway and crashed into an oncoming truck in Noshki district, Dawn reported. The vehicle was travelling from Quetta to Chagai when the accident occurred near the Sher Jan Agha area.
Five passengers were injured, two of whom were shifted to Quetta for specialised treatment. Hospital authorities said at least eight people hurt in rain-related incidents were brought to the Civil Hospital.
The rainfall, which began on Saturday, brought an end to a prolonged dry spell in the Quetta valley and briefly eased conditions for drought-affected farmers. However, it also triggered widespread disruption. Despite forecasts suggesting little rain, showers intensified by midday, flooding roads, bringing traffic to a standstill and plunging large parts of Quetta into darkness after electricity supplies were suspended. Mobile phone networks were also affected, leaving residents without connectivity for hours.
Heavy rain was reported from several districts, including Ziarat, Pishin, Kalat, Zhob, Mastung and Sibi, with power outages lasting hours across many areas.
Water crisis raises public health concerns
Amid the weather-related chaos, experts warned that Pakistan’s water-quality crisis continues to deepen. Speaking at a seminar organised by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics in Islamabad, specialists said only 47% 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 plunged from 5,260 cubic metres in 1951 to below 1,000 cubic metres in 2024, pushing Pakistan into the category of water-scarce nations. Unsafe water, experts warned, is responsible for nearly 40% of illnesses nationwide and contributes to tens of thousands of child deaths every year.
