Pakistan's Cultural Capital Sees Record Rainfall

Motorcyclists drive through a flooded road caused by heavy monsoon rainfall in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Motorcyclists drive through a flooded road caused by heavy monsoon rainfall in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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Pakistan's Cultural Capital Sees Record Rainfall

Motorcyclists drive through a flooded road caused by heavy monsoon rainfall in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Motorcyclists drive through a flooded road caused by heavy monsoon rainfall in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pakistan’s cultural city of Lahore saw record-high rainfall early Thursday, leaving at least one person dead, while flooding streets, disrupting traffic and affecting normal life, officials said.

The downpour started before dawn and is expected to continue for a week at intervals, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. In an advisory, it said the rains are likely to cause flash flooding and landslides, The AP reported.

The monsoon rains also lashed Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, and other areas.

The latest spell of rains in Lahore was so heavy that it quickly flooded many streets and rainwater entered some wards in the Jinnah and Services hospitals in the capital of Punjab province, causing problems for patients undergoing treatment there.

At least one person died after being electrocuted in the Nishat Colony neighborhood, police said.

Some areas in the city received a record-high 353 millimeters (14 inches) of rainfall in a few hours, breaking a 44-year-old record in Lahore, according to the water and sanitation agency. In a statement, it said efforts were underway to pump rainwater off of main roads.

Drainage systems quickly became overwhelmed after the rains, flooding several residential areas, officials said. The rainwater entered scores of homes in various parts of the city, residents said.

Monsoon rains have returned to Pakistan as the country is still struggling to recover from devastating 2022 floods that affected 33 million people and killed 1,739. But weather forecasters say the country will receive less heavy rains compared to 2022, when climate-induced downpours swelled rivers.

Pakistan recorded its wettest April since 1961, with more than double the usual rainfall for the month. Weather forecasters and scientists have blamed climate change for the unusually heavy monsoon rains.

In neighboring Afghanistan, authorities on Thursday were dealing with a different kind of weather event, warning people against leaving their homes because of high temperatures.

Fawad Ayoubi, a forecast officer at the country’s aviation department, said people should go out before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m. if they needed to leave the house.

“The temperature will increase in northern and northwestern provinces as well as southwestern provinces,” said Ayoubi. “The reasons are the monsoon or hot weather from India that is affecting Afghanistan.”

The World Health Organization also shared advice on how Afghans could protect themselves in the warmer weather. It said people should wear a wide-brimmed hat or hat and sunglasses, to eat small meals and more often, and to avoid leaving children in parked cars.

Associated Press



New Hampshire Governor Saves Man's Live while Choking at Seafood Festival

 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.
 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.
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New Hampshire Governor Saves Man's Live while Choking at Seafood Festival

 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.
 New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll during a contest - The AP.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu came to the aid of a contestant choking on a lobster roll at a seafood festival eating contest, using the Heimlich maneuver after the man signaled for help.

The contestant, Christian Moreno, recovered and resumed eating at the competition on stage Sunday.

Moreno was one of six participants at the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival contest. They had 10 minutes to eat as many lobster rolls as they could. The New England sandwich is traditionally stuffed with lobster, celery and mayonnaise and served on a hot dog-style bun.

“I'm shooting for at least 20,” Moreno, of Nashua, said in a video account before the contest started, saying he studied competitive eater Joey Chestnut of hot dog-contest eating fame, The AP reported.

Moreno was at the end of a long table, close to where Sununu was watching on the side of the stage after speaking to the crowd a bit earlier.

Standing, Moreno had downed about two lobster rolls when he started choking and tapped his chest, video showed. Sununu rushed out a short time later, put his arms around Moreno and started abdominal thrusts. He got in several before first responders took over, WMUR-TV reported.

Messages seeking comment Monday were sent to Sununu's office and to Moreno.

“It was crazy because it wasn’t so much the jumping in and doing it — I mean, that was wild in itself — but there was so much commotion,” Sununu, a popular Republican governor who isn't seeking reelection for fifth term, told the station.

Moreno, who didn't have his glasses on, wasn't aware it was the governor who had helped save him.

"My counter came up to me and, like, made a joke. And was like, ‘Oh, like, I bet nobody else can say that they’ve gotten the Heimlich from the governor before.’ And I looked at him, was just like, that was, that was the governor?” Moreno said.

Moreno recovered and went back to the contest. He didn't win, but he did consume nine lobster rolls in all.