ISLAMABAD: Three people were killed while one was injured this week as a cloudburst triggered flash floods that caused several blockages on the key Babusar Road in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.
The Babusar Road in northern Pakistan is a popular mountain route for tourists, connecting the Kaghan Valley in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province to GB.
The NDMA said that a cloudburst at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday affected an area of approximately seven to eight kilometers on Babusar Road, causing 14–15 major blockages due to landslides, debris and flash floods.
“Three dead bodies received at Regional Headquarters Chila, one injured person under treatment,” the NDMA said in a statement. “Tourists stranded at various points were evacuated.”
The disaster management authority further said that the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Diamer visited the site. However, it said they could only travel as far as the road’s middle point as the area beyond it remains inaccessible on foot due to heavy boulder deposits.
“Babusar Road is severely blocked,” the NDMA said. “Karakorum Highway blocked at Lal Parhi and Tatta Pani [areas]. Around 10–15 vehicles are stuck in nullahs and slide areas.”
The development took place as the Pakistan Meteorological Department warned that a fresh monsoon rain spell till July 25 is likely to trigger more floods in Pakistan.
Heavy rains have killed at least 221 people and injured 591 across the country, as per the NDMA’s latest situation report. Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province has reported the highest number of deaths at 135, followed by 46 in KP, 22 in Sindh, 16 in Balochistan, and one each in the federal capital of Islamabad and Azad Kashmir.
The PMD warned landslides and mudslides may block roads in vulnerable areas of Murree, Galliyat, Kashmir, and GB during this time period. Heavy rains, windstorms and lightning could also damage weak structures, electric poles, billboards, vehicles and solar panels.
State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that Islamabad received the highest rainfall over the last 24 hours, 184 millimeter, leading to urban flooding in the city’s Saidpur Village. Footage shared widely on social media showed severely damaged cars being swept away by raging currents in nullahs across the village.
As per the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) KP, at least 10 people have been killed and two injured in the northwestern province over the last 24 hours in various rain-related incidents.
It said the deceased included two men, two women, and six children, while the injured included one man and one child. The casualties occurred in various districts of the province, including Swat, Bajaur, Buner, Upper Kohistan, Upper Chitral and Shangla.
Monsoon season brings South Asia 70 to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, arriving in early June in India and late June in Pakistan, and lasting through until September.
In 2022, record-breaking monsoon rains combined with glacial melt submerged nearly a third of Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and displacing over 8 million. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, including strong hailstorms.
