Rescuers look for 150 people still missing in Pakistan's northwest following devastating floods
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Rescuers are looking for more than 150 people who were still missing on Monday in northwestern Pakistan, where scores died after the area was struck by a cloudburst. A senior politician blamed locals for the high death toll, saying people should have built their homes elsewhere.
Search operations have been extended to remote areas to find residents swept away by floods that hit the mountainous district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, said emergency services spokesman Mohammad Suhail. The army has deployed engineers and heavy machinery to clear the rubble.
The death toll in Buner reached 277 on Monday after rescuers recovered three bodies, Suhail said.
Villagers have accused officials of not telling them to evacuate ahead of flooding and landslides. There was no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting emergencies in remote areas.
However, the government insists that while an early warning system was in place, the sudden downpour was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be informed.
Provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said Sunday that many of the deaths could have been avoided had residents not built homes along waterways and riverbanks. He added that the government would encourage displaced families to relocate to safer areas, where they would be assisted in rebuilding their homes.
Pakistan has seen higher-than-normal monsoon rains since June 26, killing 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.
The U.N. humanitarian agency said it has mobilized groups in hard-hit areas, where damaged roads and communication lines have cut off communities. Relief agencies are providing food, water and other aid while preparing for longer-term recovery efforts.
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.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep sorrow on Sunday over the loss of life in Pakistan and India, while Pope Leo XIV offered condolences after praying the Angelus in Castel Gandolfo
Pakistan remains highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters. In 2022, catastrophic floods linked to climate change killed nearly 1,700 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
4 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
7 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. ___
7 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."
