Dozens of people have been killed in accidents and floods caused by torrential rains that have lashed Pakistan for days on end, officials said Friday.

Precipitation reached record levels in Karachi, the country's largest city, where waist-deep rivers of trash-strewn floodwater swept down streets and into homes and businesses.

Water submerged streets and washed into houses in Rawalpindi city, next to the capital, after heavy rain caused rivers to overflow. Large swathes of Pakistan have been hit by flooding in recent weeks
Water submerged streets and washed into houses in Rawalpindi city, next to the capital, after heavy rain caused rivers to overflow. Large swathes of Pakistan have been hit by flooding in recent weeks AFPTV / Muhammad DAUD

Eighteen people died in the southern city on Thursday "in various rain-related accidents," a police spokeswoman said.

A record 230mm of rain was recorded in Karachi, home to about 20 million people, compared to the average of 130mm for the time of year, the city's meteorological service chief Sarfraz Ahmed said.

Rainfall reached record levels in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city
Rainfall reached record levels in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city AFP / Asif HASSAN

In the mountainous northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 people were killed in flash floods Friday, with landslides damaging 67 houses, said provincial disaster management authority Taimur Ali.

And in the eastern province of Punjab, local officials said four workers were killed when a warehouse roof collapsed Friday.

The monsoon, which usually lasts from June to September, is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing water supplies across the Indian subcontinent, home to one-fifth of the world's population.

In total, floods killed 103 people in August in Pakistan, including 54 in Karachi, 33 in Punjab and 16 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to official figures compiled by AFP.

Pakistan Water