Death Toll from Devastating Flash Floods in Pakistan Surges Past 300
Devastating flash floods in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have killed over 300 people, with Buner district hit hardest. According to a Dawn report, rescue efforts are severely hampered by landslides and damaged roads as more heavy rain is forecast.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The death toll from catastrophic flash floods in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province surged to 307 on Saturday, as rescue teams continued to recover bodies in several hard-hit districts, according to a report from Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper citing the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
The staggering loss of life, primarily concentrated in the Buner district, underscores the severity of a natural disaster that has also claimed dozens of lives in adjacent regions and continues to pose immense challenges to relief operations.
The latest figures add to the casualties reported in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where the unprecedented floods have claimed at least 12 and nine lives, respectively, alongside causing widespread destruction, Dawn reported.
The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed devastating scenes on Friday as flash floods, triggered by heavy rainfall and cloudbursts, claimed over 200 lives in a single day.
The toll from that day included five crew members of a provincial government helicopter that crashed in the Mohmand district while conducting relief and rescue efforts.
According to a PDMA situation report seen by Dawn.com, Buner has been the worst-affected district in the province, with 184 lives lost in the past 48 hours. Other districts also reported significant fatalities, with Shangla reporting 36 deaths, Mansehra 23, Swat 22, Bajaur 21, Battagram 15, and Lower Dir five, while a child drowned in Abbottabad.
The PDMA detailed extensive infrastructure damage in its report, noting that 11 houses were completely destroyed and 63 were partially damaged by the floods.
The deluge also affected two schools in Swat and another in Shangla. In a separate daily situation report published on its website, the PDMA stated that 93 more bodies, all men, were recovered in Buner, bringing that district's confirmed death toll to 184.
The Buner Deputy Commissioner, Kashif Qayum Khan, confirmed these casualties to Dawn.com, adding that rescue teams were still searching for 30 people who remain missing in the Chagharzai tehsil.
He also noted that "over 100" people were injured in the same area. In response to the crisis, the KP government has officially declared the severely affected mountainous districts of Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, and Battagram as disaster-hit areas.
Rescue operations are facing significant obstacles, as reported by Dawn.
The KP PDMA told the news agency AFP that approximately 2,000 rescue workers were engaged in recovering bodies from debris and carrying out relief operations across nine affected districts.
Bilal Ahmed Faizi, a spokesperson for KP Rescue 1122, explained the difficulties to AFP, stating that "heavy rainfall, landslides in several areas, and washed-out roads are causing significant challenges in delivering aid, particularly in transporting heavy machinery and ambulances."
He added that due to road closures in most areas, rescue workers are being forced to travel on foot to conduct operations in remote regions.
The spokesperson also described a grim human element complicating the rescue, noting that workers are trying to evacuate survivors, but very few are willing to relocate due to the deaths of relatives or the fact that their loved ones remain trapped in the debris.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a heavy rain alert for the northwest areas for the next few hours, urging people to take "precautionary measures," according to the Dawn report.
