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RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, July 17, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Heavy rains have been linked to 54 deaths in the last 24 hours in Pakistan, taking the toll to about 180 since the arrival of the monsoon in late June, the government's disaster agency said on Thursday.

Torrential rain has poured almost without pause across parts of Punjab province since Wednesday morning, causing urban flooding.

Residents living near a river that runs through the city of Rawalpindi, next to the capital Islamabad, have been ordered to evacuate after a sharp rise in the water level.

"In the last 24 hours, 54 people were killed and 227 injured across Pakistan, with the majority of fatalities reported from Punjab," a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Authority told AFP, adding that the toll had been counted at 8:00 am (0300 GMT) on Thursday.

She said around 180 people have been killed, including 70 children, and about 500 injured since the start of the monsoon on June 26.

The government of Rawalpindi declared a public holiday on Thursday to keep people at home, with the national meteorological department warning that heavy rain would continue until Friday.

"Residents of vulnerable areas should prepare emergency kits with food, water, and essential medicines for three to five days in case of an emergency," said the government.

In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.