At least 27 people, including eight children, have died as heavy rains and strong winds battered parts of northwestern Pakistan, with most of the deaths caused by collapsed buildings, local authorities said today.

“At least 12 people were buried after roofs and walls of their houses collapsed,” he told AFP. Taimur Ali Khan, provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) representative.

Fifteen people were killed in Banu district, among them five siblings aged between two and eleven. More than 140 people were injured and more than 200 farm animals died, Taimur Ali Khan added.

The bad weather hit four areas of the province Kimber-Panktunkwa late yesterday Saturday and local authorities declared a state of emergency.

Authorities also said a cyclone from the Arabian Sea is approaching Pakistan and India.

Sindh’s provincial disaster management authority has issued a warning of very heavy rainfall and winds of up to 100 km/h expected during the next week.

Last summer, Pakistan was hit by unprecedented monsoon rains that killed more than 1,700 people, flooded a third of the country and destroyed two million homes.