At least 71 people have died in landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy rains in parts of Pakistan, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said on Monday. Scores more were injured in rain-related incidents across northern Pakistan. Most of the casualties were reported in the northern part of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which has been hit by the downpour since Friday. State-run Radio Pakistan put the death toll in rain-related incidents at 71. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa alone recorded 47 deaths, it reported. A total of 141 houses were destroyed and the torrential rain caused serious losses to orchards and standing crops. Footage on television showed flood waters washing away several bridges. There were reports of landslides in Neelam Valley of PoK. Eight members of a family were killed at Samgam Sharda village when their house collapsed. The rains disrupted communication links to Gilgit Baltistan and damaged the Karakorum highway between Gilgit and Chilas. The regional government declared a state of emergency after 10 people died in rain-related incidents. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said unstable weather would continue for another day, especially in Malakand and Hazara divisions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. PMD adviser Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry said such heavy rains at this time of the year were unusual. "These erratic weather conditions can easily be attributed to climate change," he was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune. "The authorities should be prepared for erratic weather patterns in future too," he said.
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