PESHAWAR (Kashmir English): Flash flooding in Pakistan’s northern areas on Friday left at least 348 people dead and several others injured, with 327 lives lost alone in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, according to the data shared by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
Since late June, monsoon rains have caused havoc across the country, especially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the northern regions by triggering deadly floods, landslides, and displacement. Vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas remained the most affected.
According to the reports, 327 people were killed in KP, including 204 in Buner; 12 were dead in Gilgit-Baltistan, and nine in Azad Kashmir in recent flash floods. Alongside, the KP government’s rescue helicopter crashed, leaving five crew dead.
Deadly flooding washed away bridges, homes, and water mills in AJK while over 700 tourists were also rescued from AJK’s Ratti Gali.
Buner witnessed highest number of deaths
In a daily situation report, the PDMA said 20 more bodies were recovered in Buner, taking the district’s toll to 204 in the past 48 hours, and 120 persons are injured. The DC office in Buner reported that 50 persons are still missing.
Shangla reported 36 deaths, Mansehra 23, Swat 22, Bajaur 21, Battagram 15, Lower Dir five, and a child drowned in Abbottabad.
The KP’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that an amount of Rs500 million has been released for the flood-affected districts.
Out of this, Rs15 million has been allocated for Buner, and Rs10 million for Bajaur, Battagram, and Mansehra each, the PDMA added. All of these districts, including Swat, have been declared disaster-hit areas by the KP government.
The PDMA data added that 74 homes, three schools, and 16 other structures were destroyed amid the deluge, with 51 homes being destroyed in Swat alone.
The report warned that heavy rain in the area is likely to continue intermittently until August 21.
Meanwhile, the KP Health Department also declared a health emergency in the districts of Buner, Swat, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Bajaur, and Mohmand and established flood control rooms and disease data-sharing centres in hospitals across the province.
Other most-impacted KP districts included Bajaur — located in the same Malakand Division as Buner — where eight children were among 21 killed due to flash floods, according to the PDMA report.
Incidents related to lightning strikes claimed the lives of 15 people in Battagram. Floods also claimed the lives of 14 people in Mansehra.
In Swat, thunder strikes and flash floods claimed 11 lives, the PDMA report added. A roof collapse left five men dead and three wounded in Lower Dir, while two men were killed and as many were injured in a similar incident in Shangla.
