Photos: Pakistan's deadly monsoon floods
Floods have claimed the lives of at least 500 people in the country since late June as usually heavy rain batters the country; almost half were children.
Most people drowned or died as their homes collapsed around them, according to the country's National Disaster Management Authority. Those who survive now face the threat of deadly water-borne diseases.
Pakistan, home to around 250 million people, is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries, despite being responsible for only 0.5% of global planet-heating pollution. It faces the double punch of searing heat waves and heavy monsoon rains — this year, both have been relentless.
One of this year's deadliest monsoon events so far happened last week when more than 180 people died in flash floods over just 24 hours, Pakistan's national disaster management agency reported Friday. Most deaths happened in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Tragically, this is only one of a series of floods over the past weeks which have led to devastating losses of life.
In mid-July, intense rain pummelled Pakistan's most populous province of Punjab, engulfing villages and submerging fields.
Nearly 9 inches of rain fell on the city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, turning streets into gushing rivers, inundating homes and businesses and knocking out power for hours in some neighborhoods.
More than 60 people died across the province in just 24 hours, Reuters reported — including dozens in the city of Lahore.
Floods also wreaked havoc across the scenic mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan in late July, gouging holes in roads, covering the landscape in thick mud and killing dozens of tourists.
Temperatures in Chilas, a city in Gilgit-Baltistan that sits more than 4,000 feet above sea level, reached 48.5 degrees Celsius, or 119 degrees Fahrenheit, last month.
Pakistan is glacier country and as temperatures soar, these ancient rivers of ice are melting rapidly adding to the flood risks.
In August, a flash flood triggered by a glacial lake outburst — where a lake formed by a melting glacier suddenly releases huge amounts water — damaged the Karakoram Highway in Gilgit-Baltistan, which connects Pakistan and China, and unleashed huge amounts of damage on homes and farms.
It's not just Pakistan that's been suffering. Floods in India-administered Kashmir left at least 46 people dead and more than 200 missing in the Himalayan town of Chashoti. Earlier this month, a wall of water tore through the Himalayan village of Dharali in northern India, killing at least four people and leaving dozens missing.
Scientists say the climate crisis is fueling this extreme weather and making it more deadly.
The rainfall Pakistan experienced during the first month of this year's monsoon season was made about 15% more intense by human-driven climate changeb, according to a rapid analysis study by a group of international scientists published last week.
A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture which can be squeezed out in the form of more intense rain.
'Pakistan is on the frontline of climate change. It is enduring temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) and relentless droughts, wildfires, and catastrophic floods fueled by extreme monsoon rains and rapidly melting glaciers,' said Friederike Otto, a climate science professor at Imperial College London and an author of the analysis.
The country's 2022 monsoon season was particularly deadly, killing more than 1,700 people, displacing many more from their homes and causing an estimated $40 billion in damages.
'We are at the epicentre of a global climate polycrisis,' said Pakistan's former climate change and environmental coordination minister in a post on X last month. 'But do you see alarm bells ringing? I don't.'
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Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
More than 150 people are still missing after devastating flooding in northwest Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Anguished Pakistanis searched remote areas for bodies swept away by weekend flash floods as the death toll reached 277 on Monday, while one official replied to the lack of evacuation warnings by saying people should have built homes elsewhere. A changing climate has made residents of northern Pakistan's river-carved mountainous areas more vulnerable to sudden, heavy rains. More than 150 people were still missing in the district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after Friday's flash floods. Villagers have said there had been no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting emergencies in remote areas. The government has said the sudden downpour was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be informed. Emergency services spokesman Mohammad Suhail said three bodies were found on Monday. The army has deployed engineers and heavy machinery to clear the rubble. On Sunday, provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said many deaths could have been avoided if residents had not built homes along waterways. He said the government would encourage displaced families to relocate to safer areas, where they would be assisted in rebuilding homes. Residents said they were not living near streams, yet the flood swept through their homes. In Buner's Malak Pur village, Ikram Ullah, aged 55, said people's ancestral homes were destroyed even though they were not near the stream, which emerged in the area because of the flood. He said large boulders rolled down from mountains with the flood. In flood-hit Pir Baba village, Shaukat Ali, 57, a shopkeeper whose grocery store was swept away, said his business was not near a river or stream but had stood for years alongside hundreds of other shops in the bazar. 'We feel hurt when someone says we suffered because of living along the waterways,' Ali told The Associated Press. Pakistan has seen higher-than-normal monsoon rains since June 26 that have killed at least 645 people across the country, with 400 deaths in the northwest. The National Disaster Management Authority issued an alert for further flooding after new rains began Sunday in many parts of the country. In a statement, the military said the Pakistan Air Force played a key role in flood relief operations by airlifting 48 tons of NGO-provided relief goods from the port of Karachi to Peshawar, the regional capital. It said the air force established an air bridge to ensure the swift delivery of supplies. On Monday, torrential rains triggered a flash flood that struck Darori village in northwestern Swabi district, killing 15 people, government official Awais Babar said. He said rescuers evacuated nearly 100 people, mostly women and children, who had taken refuge on the roofs of homes. Disaster management officials said the floods inundated streets in other districts in the northwest and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting Monday to review relief efforts in flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as northern Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. At the meeting, officials estimated flood-related damages to public and private property at more than 126 million rupees ($450,000), according to a government statement. The U.N. humanitarian agency said it had mobilized groups in hard-hit areas where damaged roads and communication lines have cut off communities. Relief agencies were providing food, water and other aid. Flooding has also hit India-administered Kashmir, where at least 67 people were killed and dozens remain missing after flash floods swept through the region during an annual Hindu pilgrimage last week. In 2022, catastrophic floods linked to climate change killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Khan writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Ishfaq Hussain in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this story.
The Hill
5 hours ago
- The Hill
Over 150 people are still missing after devastating flooding in northwest Pakistan
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Anguished Pakistanis searched remote areas for bodies swept away by weekend flash floods as the death toll reached 277 on Monday, while one official replied to the lack of evacuation warnings by saying people should have built homes elsewhere. A changing climate has made residents of northern Pakistan's river-carved mountainous areas more vulnerable to sudden, heavy rains. More than 150 people were still missing in the district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after Friday's flash floods. Villagers have said there had been no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting emergencies in remote areas. The government has said the sudden downpour was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be informed. Emergency services spokesman Mohammad Suhail said three bodies were found on Monday. The army has deployed engineers and heavy machinery to clear the rubble. On Sunday, provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said many deaths could have been avoided if residents had not built homes along waterways. He said the government would encourage displaced families to relocate to safer areas, where they would be assisted in rebuilding homes. Pakistan has seen higher-than-normal monsoon rains since June 26 that have killed at least 645 people across the country, with 400 deaths in the northwest. The National Disaster Management Authority issued an alert for further flooding after new rains began Sunday in many parts of the country. On Monday, torrential rains triggered a flash flood that struck Darori village in northwestern Swabi district, killing 15 people, government official Awais Babar said. He said rescuers evacuated nearly 100 people, mostly women and children, who had taken refuge on the roofs of homes. Disaster management officials said the floods inundated streets in other districts in the northwest and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting Monday to review relief efforts in flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well as northern Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. At the meeting, officials estimated flood-related damages to public and private property at more than 126 million rupees ($450,000), according to a government statement. The U.N. humanitarian agency said it had mobilized groups in hard-hit areas where damaged roads and communication lines have cut off communities. Relief agencies were providing food, water and other aid. Flooding has also hit India-administered Kashmir, where at least 67 people were killed and dozens remain missing after flash floods swept through the region during an annual Hindu pilgrimage last week. In 2022, catastrophic floods linked to climate change killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan and left hundreds of thousands homeless. ___
5 hours ago
More than 350 killed in monsoon flooding in Pakistan, emergency officials say
Over 350 people have died in a 72 hour period in Pakistan due to monsoon flooding, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority reported, bringing the total number of people killed to over 650 since June 26. Over 180 others were reported injured, and rescue efforts are ongoing after heavy rains halted operations for several hours on Monday, according to Reuters. A deluge of rain triggered floods and landslides, sweeping people away and flooding and destroying homes, officials said. Updates from the National Disaster Management Authority indicated that the majority of deaths were caused by the flash floods, while smaller percentages were caused by houses collapsing and lightning. Deaths were concentrated in the mountainous northern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "My heartfelt condolences go out to the bereaved families. We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in this hour of grief," wrote Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, on X. "The Government is mobilising all resources for rescue and relief operations." But some residents reportedly said they feel the government is not providing enough support in the aftermath of the floods. "We're poor people here, and nine feet of water flooded our homes. People have suffered huge losses – everything, even basic utensils," Mohammad Shabbir, a garment factory owner in Rawalpindi, told Reuters last month. "No one from the government has checked on us or offered help. They didn't even show sympathy. It's like we're invisible." Other residents echoed his sentiment. "The authorities haven't lifted a finger. They visit briefly in big vehicles, take note, and leave, while we, the most vulnerable, are left to fend for ourselves," Rawalpindi resident Shehbaz Ali told Reuters. The Pakistani government stated in a news conference that it had sufficient resources for recovery efforts and does not require foreign assistance at this time, reported the Associated Press. In 2022, devastating floods in Pakistan left a third of the country submerged, about 15,000 dead or injured, and 8 million displaced, according to the United Nations Development Programme. Pakistan faces some of the highest disaster risk levels in the world in part due to high exposure to flooding and tropical cyclones, according to the World Bank. A 2022 study from World Weather Attribution concluded that climate change likely increased extreme monsoon rainfall. As rescue and recovery efforts continue, Pakistanis affected by the flooding are attempting to rebuild their lives and homes. "Those with means might be able to bear the loss, but we can't," said Shabbir. "We're just struggling to survive."
