More than 300 people dead in Pakistan after heavy rains, floods
Residents gather at the site of a damaged bridge following a storm that caused heavy rains and flooding on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
PESHAWAR, Pakistan, August 16 - More than 300 people are dead in northwest Pakistan after two days of intense rains and floods, local officials said on Saturday.
Rescue efforts and clearing of blocked roads were ongoing with the release of emergency funds, they said, adding that the heavy rains would continue until August 21.
Cloud bursts, flash floods, lightning strikes, landslides, and the collapse of buildings caused the most deadly spell of this year's monsoon season. By early Saturday, 307 were confirmed dead, with more people missing, in the hills and mountains of the region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.
Not only Pakistan but also parts of neighbouring India and Nepal have been hit hard by heavy rains, flooding and other rain-related incidents over the past week.
Buner district, a three-and-a-half hour drive north from Pakistan's capital Islamabad in normal times, was among the country's worst-hit, with 184 killed and widespread damage to infrastructure, crops and orchards, local officials said. A cloud burst, fallen trees and flash floods swept away people and possessions.
People, including women and children, remained trapped by floodwaters in some areas of Buner, with 93 bodies recovered.
In another area, Shangla, the collapse of the roof of a building due to the downpour caused many of the 34 deaths, said the provincial Chief Secretary, Shahab Ali Shah.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Over 280 vapes seized, more than 640 people checked by police, HSA in anti-vape raids at nightspots
Singapore 5 new walking trails allow hikers to explore heritage sites and win supermarket vouchers
World Trump advises Ukraine's Zelensky to 'make a deal' with Russia after meeting Putin
World Did Putin just put one over Trump at the US-Russia summit on Ukraine?
Life Meet the tutors who take O-level exams every year to create a 'war mate' bond with their students
Singapore Nowhere to run: Why Singapore needs to start protecting its coasts now
Life Switching careers in middle age and beyond: How these Singapore professionals did it
Opinion Revitalise nightlife? Let's get the crowds out first
He said that local officials had been dispatched to the flooded areas to supervise relief operations and assess the damage.
Medical camps, he said, were being established for the flood victims, along with arrangements for families who lost their homes to be provided with cooked meals. Shah said that heavy machinery would be deployed to clear and restore roads.
Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said that civilian and military teams were carrying out rescue and relief operations, while the prime minister had chaired an emergency meeting.
'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,' Dar said in a statement on social media.
On Friday, a rescue helicopter had crashed, due to bad weather, killing the five crew members. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Pakistan's Karachi hit by torrential rain and floods
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox People wade through a flooded road after the monsoon rain in Karachi, Pakistan August 19, 2025. REUTERS/Imran Ali KARACHI, Pakistan - Pakistan declared a public holiday in Karachi on Wednesday as the financial capital braced for more rain, after the arrival of the annual monsoon season left at least 7 people dead and caused widespread flooding, officials said. The monsoon has brought havoc across Pakistan in recent days with the death toll from flash floods that struck the mountainous northwest on Friday rising to 377. In Karachi, at least seven people have died since the rains began in the southern port city on Tuesday, said Abdul Wahid Halepoto, a provincial government spokesperson. Rainfall reached levels not seen in years in some parts of the city, Pakistan's largest, with a population of more than 20 million. Authorities ordered educational institutions and offices to shut. "We are expecting more intense rains," said Anjum Nazir, a spokesperson for the provincial meteorological department. Tuesday's rain was recorded between 80 mm (3.15 inches) and 178 mm (7.01 inches) in different parts of the city, he said. Nazir said the area around the airport received 163.5 mm of rain, the highest recorded there since 1979. Some 178mm of rain was recorded in the northeast of the city, the highest since the weather station there was set up five years ago. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Emergency broadcast system to alert S'pore public to disasters via their mobile phones: Edwin Tong Singapore New annual course will groom future leaders of Singapore's Chinese community Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch Singapore Singapore indie cinema The Projector owes over $1.2m to creditors Life Five things to do at Singapore Night Festival – from kampung chilling to spotting luminous crabs Asia Calls to cut ties: Malaysia flag furore tests PH-BN relations Singapore Proposals sought to develop Changi East Urban District next to T5 Business New CDC job-matching drive may bring overlooked front-line roles closer to applicants: Experts The rain also disrupted power, mobile phone services and flights, officials said. Local television footage showed cars and other vehicles floating down streets, with houses submerged in water. Rescue workers, police, volunteers and government civic agencies were helping relief efforts, the city's Mayor Murtaza Wahab told local Geo News television. "We have all our resources at work," he said. Wahab said the rain had overwhelmed the city's infrastructure. There have also been heavy monsoon rains in Mumbai, India's financial capital, with some parts of the city drenched with as much as 875.1 mm of rain in the five days leading up to August 20, the local weather department said. Many schools in the city were closed for a second straight day on Wednesday, while train services were disrupted. Authorities requested residents avoid venturing out as more rain was predicted. REUTERS
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Pakistan villagers say floods hit 'in seconds', as toll rises to 365
DALORI BALA, Pakistan: Residents in a hilltop village in northwest Pakistan described how raging waters and rocks had swept through their homes after a cloudburst, as authorities said on Tuesday (Aug 19) the toll from floods in the region over the past five days had risen to 365. Flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in the mountainous northwest have brought destruction since Friday in the worst spell of this year's monsoon, with officials warning of more storms ahead. In Dalori Bala village near Gadoon mountains, the death toll climbed to 30 after rescue workers recovered more bodies from the rubble on Tuesday, one day after a cloudburst, said local district commissioner Nisar Khan. At least nine more people are missing, he said. Residents of the village of about 100 concrete houses in the mountains of Swabi district said a torrent of rocks came crashing onto homes, causing walls and roofs to collapse, as they were preparing for work on Monday morning. It started with a "horrible", thunderous noise at about 8am, said Zeeshan Ali, a 20-year-old college student. "It took away everything in one go, in seconds," he said. His buffaloes, as well as other belongings including electrical goods, were washed away, though his family was able to escape. "We are in need of assistance," said another resident, 45-year-old Bakht Zaman. Buner, to the north, received more than 150mm of rain within an hour triggered by a cloudburst on Friday morning, killing over 200 people - the single most destructive event in this monsoon season. KARACHI CHAOS A cloudburst is a rare phenomenon where more than 100mm of rain falls within an hour in a small area. Bodies were still being recovered in the northwest, with an unspecified number of people missing, said Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, head of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). More than 25,000 people have been rescued so far from flood-hit areas, he said, with a total of 695 killed across Pakistan since late June. The army and air force have joined rescue efforts. In southern Pakistan, heavy rain flooded major roads in the port city of Karachi, causing traffic gridlock and power outages on Tuesday, a regional government spokesperson said. TV footage showed cars floating in the floodwater on the city's main thoroughfare and rainwater entering houses in low- lying areas. Authorities said 145 mm of rain had fallen in the city and that there could be more urban flooding in Pakistan's south, including Karachi.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Cloudbursts are causing chaos in parts of India and Pakistan. Here's what they are
ISLAMABAD: Cloudbursts are causing chaos in mountainous parts of India and Pakistan, with tremendous amounts of rain falling in a short period of time over a concentrated area. The instense, sudden deluges have proven fatal in both countries. As many as 300 people died in one northwestern Pakistani district, Buner, after a cloudburst. The strength and volume of rain triggered flash flooding, landslides and mudflows. Boulders from steep slopes came crashing down with the water to flatten homes and reduce villages to rubble. The northern Indian state of Uttarakhand had a cloudburst earlier this month. Local TV showed floodwaters surging down a mountain and crashing into Dharali, a Himalayan village. In 2013, more than 6,000 people died and 4,500 villages were affected when a similar cloudburst struck the state. Here's what to know about cloudbursts: A cloudburst occurs when a large volume of rain falls in a very short period, usually more than 100mm within an hour over a localised area, around 30 sq km. Cloudbursts are sudden and violent, with devastating consequences and widespread destruction, and can be the equivalent of several hours of normal rainfall or longer. The event is the bursting of a cloud and the discharge of its contents at the same time, like a rain bomb. Several factors contribute to a cloudburst, including warm, moist air rising upward, high humidity, low pressure, instability and convective cloud formation. Moist air is forced to rise after encountering a hill or mountain. This rising air cools and condenses. Clouds that are large, dense and capable of heavy rainfall form. Hills or mountains act like barriers and often trap these clouds, so they cannot disperse or move easily. Strong upward currents keep moisture suspended inside the clouds, delaying rainfall. When the clouds cannot hold the accumulated moisture anymore, they burst and release it all at once. India and Pakistan have ideal conditions Cloudbursts thrive in moisture, monsoons and mountains. Regions of India and Pakistan have all three, making them vulnerable to these extreme weather events. The Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountain ranges are home to the world's highest and most famous peaks, spanning multiple countries including India and Pakistan. The frequency of cloudbursts in these two South Asian nations has been steadily rising due to a warming atmosphere, because a warmer air mass can hold more moisture, creating conditions for sudden and intense downpours. The South Asian region has traditionally had two monsoon seasons. One typically lasts from June to September, with rains moving southwest to northeast. The other, from roughly October to December, moves in the opposite direction. But with more planet-warming gases in the air, the rain now only loosely follows this pattern. This is because the warmer air can hold more moisture from the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, and that rain then tends to get dumped all at once. It means the monsoon is punctuated with intense flooding and dry spells, rather than sustained rain throughout. The combination of moisture, mountains and monsoons forces these moisture-laden winds upward, triggering sudden condensation and cloudbursts. They are hard to predict, but precaution is possible It's difficult to predict cloudbursts because of their size, duration, suddenness and complex atmospheric mechanisms. Asfandyar Khan Khattak, a Pakistani official from the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said there was 'no forecasting system anywhere in the world' that could predict the exact time and location of a cloudburst. The Pakistani government said that while an early warning system was in place in Buner district, where hundreds of people died after a cloudburst, the downpour was so sudden and intense that it struck before residents could be alerted. Community organisation SOST, which is also the name of a border village in Pakistan's northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, says precautions are possible. It advises people to avoid building homes right next to rivers and valleys, to postpone any travel to hilly areas if heavy rain is forecast, to keep an emergency kit ready, and to avoid travelling on mountainous roads during heavy rain or at night. It recommends afforestation to reduce surface runoff and enhance water absorption, and regular clearing and widening of riverbanks and drainage channels. Climate change is fueling their frequency Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years, partly due to climate change, while damage from associated storms has also increased due to unplanned development in mountain areas. Climate change has directly amplified the triggers of cloudbursts in Pakistan, especially. Every 1 degree Celsius rise allows the air to hold about 7 per cent more moisture, increasing the potential for heavy rainfall in short bursts. The warming of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea pushes more moisture into the atmosphere. Melting glaciers and snow alter local weather patterns, making rainfall events more erratic and extreme. Environmental degradation, in the form of deforestation and wetland loss, reduces the land's ability to absorb water, magnifying flash floods. Climate change has been a central driver in the destruction seen in Pakistan's northern areas. 'Rising global temperatures have supercharged the hydrologic cycle, leading to more intense and erratic rainfall,' said Khalid Khan, a former special secretary for climate change in Pakistan and chairman of climate initiative PlanetPulse. 'In our northern regions, warming accelerates glacier melt, adds excessive moisture to the atmosphere, and destabilises mountain slopes. In short, climate change is making rare events more frequent, and frequent events more destructive."
