Rescue workers in northwestern Pakistan have expanded relief operations after flash floods killed more than 220 people in a single district.
The mountainous Buner district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was struck by cloudbursts and torrential monsoon downpours on Friday, triggering flash floods and landslides. An emergency services spokesman in Buner, Mohammad Sohail, said on Sunday that more than half of the damaged roads have been reopened, allowing vehicles and heavy machinery to reach isolated villages.
Crews are clearing piles of rocks and mud dumped by the floods. They were using heavy machinery on Sunday to remove the rubble of collapsed homes after families reported that some of their relatives were missing.
In one of the deadliest incidents, 24 people from one family died in the village of Qadar Nagar when floodwaters swept through their home on the eve of a wedding. The head of the family, Umar Khan, said he survived the floods because he was out of the house at the time. Four of his relatives have yet to be found, he added.
Provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur visited Buner on Saturday and announced that families of the dead will receive payments of PKR2m (£5,230) each. He said tents, food, and clean drinking water are being provided to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
According to a government statement, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is monitoring the relief operations and has ordered faster distribution of aid, evacuation of stranded people, and intensified searches for the missing.
Pakistan’s disaster management authority has warned of more deluges and possible landslides between 17 and 19 August, urging local administrations to remain on alert. Higher-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the country since 26 June and killed more than 600.
Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. In 2022, a record-breaking monsoon killed nearly 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes.
The country also suffers regular flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, particularly in the rugged northwest, where villages are often perched on steep slopes and riverbanks.
Experts say climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events in South Asia.
In Indian-controlled Kashmir, torrential rains triggered flash floods in two villages in Kathua district that killed at least seven people and injured five overnight on Saturday, officials said. Rescue and relief operations are ongoing.
In Kishtwar district, teams are continuing their efforts in the remote village of Chositi, looking for dozens of missing people after the area was hit by flash floods on Thursday 14 August. At least 60 were killed and some 150 injured, around 50 critically, in the disaster.
The Kishtwar floods struck during an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a shrine in the Himalayas. Authorities rescued over 300 people, while some 4,000 pilgrims were evacuated to safety.
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