Heavy Monsoon Rains and Flash Floods Kill Over 320 in Pakistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared disaster-hit as torrential rains trigger deadly floods across northern Pakistan.
At least 321 people have been killed in Pakistan following two days of torrential monsoon rains that triggered flash floods and landslides across the country’s northern regions, officials said on Saturday.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, 307 deaths were reported in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which has borne the brunt of the devastation. The provincial government has declared Buner, Bajaur, Mansehra, and Battagram as disaster-hit districts.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur confirmed that five people, including two pilots, were killed when a government helicopter crashed due to bad weather during a mission to deliver relief goods.
Funeral prayers were held in Bajaur as rescue teams searched through mud-soaked hills for survivors. Photos showed grieving families gathered around bodies wrapped in blankets.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued fresh warnings of heavy rains in the northwest, urging residents to avoid “unnecessary exposure to vulnerable areas.”
The monsoon season, which typically runs from June to September, brings much-needed rainfall for agriculture but often causes destruction. This year’s rains began earlier than usual and are expected to last longer. Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah, a representative of the national disaster agency, warned: “The next 15 days, particularly from August 16 till the 30th of August, the intensity of the monsoon will further exacerbate.”
The provincial government declared Saturday a day of mourning, with flags flying at half-mast. “The martyrs will be laid to rest with full state honours,” Gandapur’s office said in a statement.
Pakistan is considered one of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world, with scientists linking the increasingly destructive monsoons to the effects of climate change. Torrential rains since the start of summer have already killed more than 320 people, nearly half of them children.
In Punjab province, home to nearly half of Pakistan’s 255 million people, July rainfall was 73% higher than last year. The devastation recalls the 2022 monsoon floods, which submerged one-third of the country and killed more than 1,700 people.
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