ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Lightning and heavy rains have killed at least 49 people across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities in the country's southwest declared a state of emergency.
Some deaths occurred when lightning struck farmers harvesting wheat. Rains caused dozens of houses to collapse in the northwest and in eastern Punjab province.
Arfan Kathia, a spokesman for the provincial disaster management authority, said 21 people had died in Punjab, where more rains were expected this week. Khursheed Anwar, a spokesman for the disaster management authority in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said 21 people died there.
Rain also lashed the capital, Islamabad, and killed seven people in southwestern Baluchistan province. Streets flooded in the northwestern city of Peshawar and in Quetta, the Baluchistan capital.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in televised remarks he had ordered authorities to provide relief aid. Pakistan's water reservoirs would improve because of the rains, he said.
Rafay Alam, a Pakistani environmental expert, said such heavy April rainfall is unusual.
"Two years ago, Pakistan witnessed a heat wave in March and April and now we are witnessing rains and it is all of because of climate change, which had caused heavy flooding in 2022," he said.
In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point inundated one-third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damage.
Meanwhile, heavy flooding from seasonal rains in Afghanistan killed 33 people and injured 27 others in three days, according to Abdullah Janan Saiq, the Taliban's spokesman for the State Ministry for Natural Disaster Management.
More than 600 houses were damaged or destroyed while around 200 livestock died. The flooding also damaged large areas of agricultural land and more than 53 miles of roads, he said.
He said authorities in Afghanistan had provided aid to nearly 23,000 families, and flash floods were reported in 20 of the country's 34 provinces.
A motorcyclist and car drivers drive through a flooded road caused by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
In this photo provided by the Rescue 1122 Emergency Department, rescue workers and locals gather to clear the rubble of a house partially damaged by landslide due to heavy rainfall in Matta, a town in Swat Valley, Pakistan, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (Rescue 1122 Emergency Department via AP)
A Pakistani looks at the Swat river, which is overflowing due to heavy rains in the area, in Mingora, the main town Swat Valley, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada)
In this photo provided by the Rescue 1122 Emergency Department, rescue workers and locals gather to clear the rubble of a house partially damaged by landslide due to heavy rainfall in Matta, a town in Swat Valley, Pakistan, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (Rescue 1122 Emergency Department via AP)
A Pakistani wades through a flooded street caused by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
Un conductor en moto y un auto circulan por una calle inundada por las fuertes lluvias en Peshawar, Pakistán, el lunes 15 de abril de 2024. Docenas de personas, la mayoría agricultores, murieron en Pakistán debido a las precipitaciones en los últimos tres días, según dijeron las autoridades el lunes. (AP Foto/Muhammad Sajjad)
A man takes a selfie on the bank of a stream, which is overflowing following heavy rains, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightnings and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
Youngsters wade through a flooded street caused by heavy rain in Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightening and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
People stand beside a make shift stall set up on the bank of a stream, which is overflowing following heavy rains, on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, Monday, April 15, 2024. Lightnings and heavy rains killed dozens of people, mostly farmers, across Pakistan in the past three days, officials said Monday, as authorities declared a state of emergency in the country's southwest following an overnight rainfall to avoid any further casualties and damages. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)