DIR, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: The death toll from torrential rains and floods in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in the last 48 hours has risen to 307, the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Saturday, with at least 23 people injured in various incidents.
The country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) put the nationwide monsoon death toll at 313 as of Thursday, which means that the overall deaths are likely to exceed 600 once the KP PDMA figures are taken into account.
In the last 48 hours, raging hill torrents swept away dozens of people in KP’s Swat, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Mansehra, Shangla and Battagram districts. Rescuers, backed by boats and helicopters, worked for hours to save stranded residents and tourists as ambulances transported bodies to hospitals.
A helicopter carrying relief supplies to the northwestern Bajaur region crashed due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said.
“So far, 307 people have died and 23 have been injured in various accidents due to rains and flash floods during the last 48 hours,” the KP PDMA said on Saturday, in a report estimating losses.
“The deceased include 279 men, 15 women and 13 children, while the injured include 17 men, 4 women and 2 children.”
The floods and subsequent landslides forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
A total of 68 houses were damaged due to rains and flash floods, according to the authority. Of them, 61 houses were partially damaged and seven were destroyed.
The PDMA said Bajaur and Battagram were the most affected districts, adding that the provincial government had released Rs500 million ($1.7 million) for relief works in affected areas.
“The current series of heavy rains is likely to continue intermittently till August 21,” it said. “The PDMA has issued directives to intensify relief activities in all the affected districts and provide immediate relief to affectees.”
The NDMA said on Saturday its team has reached Peshawar to supervise relief works on the instructions of the prime minister.
“There is a possibility of further increase in landslide incidents in the northern areas in case of possible rains,” it said, urging precaution during rains and floods. “Tourists are requested to avoid traveling to the northern areas for the next 5-6 days.”
Deputy PM Ishaq Dar expressed sorrow over the tragic loss of life and property by the cloudbursts and flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of Pakistan.
“Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones, to those who are injured, and many whose homes and livelihoods have been swept away,” he said on X. “The Government of Pakistan is mobilizing all available resources to provide relief and conduct rescue operations.”
The deluges have evoked memories of 2022 when catastrophic monsoon rains and glacial melt submerged a third of the country, killing more than 1,700 people and causing over $30 billion in damages.
Pakistan, which contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change.
Scientists say rising temperatures are making South Asia’s monsoon rains more erratic and intense, increasing the risk of flash floods and landslides in mountainous regions like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, where at least 20 people have died in similar incidents and several are missing.
A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan from June 24 to July 23 was 10 percent to 15 percent heavier because of global warming.
