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Overnight storm in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, kills at least 15 people and injures several

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) —Heavy rains and strong windslashed Pakistan's largest city overnight, killing at least 15 people and injuring several others as walls and roofs collapsed at multiple locations, emergency services and hospital officials said Thursday.

Local residents navigate through the rubble of boundary wall collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Local residents examine the rubble of a boundary wall collapsed due to heavy rains and strong winds in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Raza)

Pakistan Rain Storm

The storm that began Wednesday continued into the night in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province. Authorities advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel.

At least 15 bodies were brought to the city's main hospital. More than two dozen people were injured and treated at hospitals after weather-related incidents, police surgeon Summaiya Tariq and emergency officials said.

The storm also uprooted roadside trees and disrupted traffic, according to rescue officials and police.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said winds of up to 90 kph (56 mph) lasted for hours. Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab urged residents to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary movement, warning that many trees had fallen and crews were working to clear roads.

Forecasters said more rain and thunderstorms with strong winds and possible isolated hailstorms could continue to affect Karachi and other parts of Sindh province as a westerly weather system moves across the region.

Rain and storms lashed many other areas across the country, emergency services reported.

byAlpha World

in

March 19, 2026

Overnight storm in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, kills at least 15 people and injures several

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) —Heavy rains and strong windslashed Pakistan's largest city overnight, killing at least 15 peo...

'Kona storm' astounds forecasters with 'astronomical' rain in Hawaii

Just four days afterstorms swept Hawaii with flooding rainsand more than 100 mph winds, the islands are bracing for another round arriving March 19 and lingering through the weekend.

Another subtropical cyclone, known asa "kona storm" or "kona low," is formingand forecast to bring more rain and flooding, but without the highest winds of the previous storm, said Matthew Foster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

The heaviest rain is expected on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, according to weather service reports. "While this storm may not be as strong as last week's kona low, individual areas may be impacted differently depending on where rain bands set up," the weather service added.

The system is forecast to drag moisture over the region into the night of March 19 and into the 20th, Foster said. Then a trough will move into the area and intensify on March 20 and 21.

Rain chances in Hawaii over 12 hours from March 19 to March 20, 2026.

How do kona storms form?

Kona is the Hawaiian word for leeward, and these subtropical cyclones often form on the west or northwest of the archipelago, considered the leeward side of the islands and typically sheltered from the tradewinds and intense rains.

The low pressure systems are a winter phenomenon, worse some years than others, with origins in a series of planetary waves that move around the globe.

The systems appear every year, but don't always hit Hawaii, said Matthew Foster, a meteorologist with the weather service in Honolulu. "We will see them every year, but it's not every time they hit us," Foster said. "We're a small target in the big ocean. They may be 600 miles to the west or the east."

Winds, rain washed over Hawaii March 13-16

Officials are still working to assess and address damage from the March 13-16 storm that dropped up to four feet of rain on the island of Maui. The winds, blowing at hurricane-speed gusts, took down some of the "power high tension wires that go across mountain ridges," said Steven Businger, a University of Hawaii professor.

Hawaii Electric is still reconnecting people, Businger said. On the Big Island, at least 1,848 customers remained without electricity on March 18, with a total of nearly 2,400 across the archipelago, according toUSA TODAY's outage tracker.

Flooding washed over roads in the islands, eroded a home that washed away and caused sinkholes and other damages, according toHawaii Civil Beat.But no deaths had been reported as of March 18.

Widespread winds, gusting to 50 to 80 mph, were reported across the islands, with even higher gusts in a few locations.

Winds gusted to 135 mph at Kaiaulu Puu Waawaa on the Big Island in the early morning hours of March 14, and to 110 mph at the Mauna Kea Summit the next morning. On Maui, the winds gusted to 108 mph at Kula. On Oahu, the winds gusted to 81 mph at Makapuu Beach and to 78 mph at the historical Schofield Barracks.

In addition to the winds, rainfall amounts were "astronomical," Businger said.

How did the mid-March kona storm compare to previous storms?

A similar – but worse – kona system occurred in 2006, with seven fatalities, Businger said. The rains started in February and continued through March, with 40 days and 40 nights of precipitation, prompting comparisons to the biblical event associated with Noah.

A La Niña pattern in the Eastern Pacific tends to favor stronger lows, Businger said. The 2006 event happened as a La Nina was fading. So did flooding in April 2018 and March 2021.

Fortunately the end is at least in sight for this event, he said. "I'm quite sure that in two weeks this pattern will have changed or diminished greatly."

"You know, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb," he said, adding the folklore stems from the maximum changes occurring as Earth moves toward its Spring Equinox.

"We are at a time when the sun is increasing in strength more from one day to the next than at any other time of year," he said. The length of day increases the fastest around the equinox, with a peak change in day-to-day solar radiation.

Because temperature gradients at various levels in the atmosphere are a primary source of energy for these storms, when the sun begins to warm the cold air, he said it "steals the thunder" out of the low-pressure system.

Although daily rainfall records were broken at several gauges throughout the islands, only one of three major climate stations – Kahului – has reported record rain so far in March.

Kahului has received 16.36 inches of rain, exceeding its previous 10.9 inch record set in March 1967.
At Hilo, where 11.43 inches of rain has fallen, the standing record for March is 49.93 inches in 1980.
At Honolulu, 10.1 inches of rain has fallen, far below its monthly record of 20.79 inches in 1951.

Could 'kona lows' be affected by climate change?

It's possible that climate change could influence the subtropical cyclones in the future. Warming temperatures could increase the potential for heavier rainfall, Businger said, but so far, Hawaii has been spared most of the worst of the increases in sea surface temperatures seen in other regions, because the ocean currents carry warmer water into other regions.

The state is seeing "two trends that are pretty clear in the data," he said. The islands are getting drier, with higher elevations seeing the dryness faster than the lower elevations; and the state is getting warmer.

Temperatures in Hawaii are getting hotter, said Steven Businger, a professor in the meteorology department at the University of Hawaii, as this data from the National Centers for Environmental Information shows.

Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about violent weather, climate change and other news. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Kona storm in forecast again after 'astronomical' rain in Hawaii

byAlpha World

in

March 19, 2026

'Kona storm' astounds forecasters with 'astronomical' rain in Hawaii

Just four days afterstorms swept Hawaii with flooding rainsand more than 100 mph winds, the islands are bracing for anoth...

A'ja Wilson to reportedly stay with Aces on WNBA supermax deal

WhenWNBA free agencystarts, don't expectLas Vegas Aces superstar A'JA Wilsonto go anywhere.

Wilson and nearly 80% of the league are free agents ahead of the 2026 season and will be seeking new deals when the WNBA's free agency period starts in the coming days. However, the four-time MVP and three-time WNBA champion is reportedly staying with the Aces. According to aLas Vegas Review-Journal report, Wilson is expected to re-sign with the team on aWNBA supermax salary of $1.4 million.

On Wednesday, after the WNBA and the WNBPA agreed to a new CBA in principle, a source confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that the new league salary cap would start at $7 million in Year 1, up from $1.5 million in 2025. The average revenue share for the players would be nearly 20% across the life of the deal, up from 9.3% under the 2020 CBA. As for player salaries, the supermax would be $1.4 million, with an average salary in the range of $600,000 and the minimum above $300,000.

1. A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson had one of the best seasons in WNBA history and earned the top spot on our list. Wilson led the Aces to their third title in four years after sweeping nearly every major award in the calendar year. She earned her second WNBA scoring title, third Defensive Player of the Year award, an unprecedented fourth MVP and her second Finals MVP, becoming the first player in WNBA or NBA history to accomplish it all in a single season. Becky Hammon said it best: Wilson is "Everest. There is no one else around." Wilson isn't ready to be in the GOAT conversation just yet. "I still got a little bit more winning to do before you put me in that conversation. When you're compared to greats, when you're compared to legends, that means you're doing something right and I'm so grateful," she said after sweeping the Phoenix Mercury in the 2025 WNBA Finals.