45 people, half of them children, have been killed due to heavy rains that caused flash floods and house collapses at the start of the monsoon season in Pakistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, located in the northwest of the country on the border with Afghanistan, recorded the highest death toll, with 21 people killed, including 10 children.

The National Disaster Management Authority reported that 14 of these deaths, including six children, occurred in the Swat Valley, where flash floods swept families away to a riverbank, according to local media.

Punjab province, the country’s most populous province with a population of about 130 million and located in the east on the border with India, has recorded 13 deaths since last Wednesday.

Eight of the victims were children, all of whom died when the roof or wall of their home collapsed.

Adults were also killed by flash floods in Punjab’s rivers, and 39 people were injured in the province.

Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that the risk of heavy rains and flash floods will remain high until at least July 5.

Last May, 32 people were killed and more than 150 injured in severe storms that struck Pakistan, which has experienced numerous weather events this spring, including unprecedented hailstorms.

Pakistan is one of the countries most affected by climate change, and its 240 million people are experiencing increasingly severe weather events.