Rains kill 36 in northwest Pakistan: officials

At least 36 people were killed and 27 injured after heavy rain across northwest Pakistan caused the roofs of dozens of homes to collapse, officials said Sunday.

The deaths were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during a downpour that began Saturday night, a provincial disaster management agency spokesman said.

The number known to have died had now risen to 36, the spokesman said, adding reports were still awaited from a few more remote areas.

The worst-hit area was Kohistan where 12 deaths were reported, followed by Shangla district where rains and landslides killed 10 people.

Poorly-built homes, particularly in rural areas, are most susceptible to collapse during heavy spring rain.

Severe weather hits the country every year, with hundreds killed and huge tracts of prime farmland destroyed in recent years.

During the rainy season last summer, torrential downpours and flooding killed 81 people and affected almost 300,000 people across the country.