<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Heavy rains swept through Pakistan's northwest on Saturday, causing several houses to collapse and leaving at least 25 people dead and 145 injured, authorities said.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rains and hail hit the Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Karak districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, senior rescue officer Khateer Ahmed said, uprooting trees and knocking down electrical transmission towers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Officials were working to provide emergency relief to the injured, Ahmed said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year, monsoon rains and flooding devastated Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people, affecting around 33 million people and displacing nearly 8 million.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To mitigate the effects of natural disasters, the government in its national budget draft presented Friday allocated $1.3 billion for climate resilience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday expressed grief over the loss of life loss from the storm and directed authorities to pick up the pace of the relief operation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Sharif ordered officials to put in place emergency measures in advance of the approaching Cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabia Sea. The "severe and intense" cyclone with wind speeds of 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) was on a course toward the country's south, Pakistan's disaster management agency said. AP/UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>