Pakistan floods leave 220 dead as rescuers pull 63 more bodies from landslides
Pakistan has had above-normal rain which experts link to climate change, leading to floods and mudslides that have killed about 541 people since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
Hundreds of rescue workers are still searching for survivors in Buner, one of several districts hit in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where torrential rain and cloudbursts triggered massive flooding on Friday, said Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for the emergency services. Dozens of homes were swept away.
First responders have been trying to recover bodies in the worst-hit villages of Pir Baba and Malik Pura, where most people died on Friday, according to Kashif Qayyum, a deputy commissioner in Buner.
A local police officer, Imtiaz Khan, who narrowly escaped the deluges, said floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders flattened dozens of homes within minutes in Buner.
'A stream near the Pir Baba village in Buner swelled without warning. At first, we thought it was a normal flash flood, but when tons of rocks came crashing down with the water, 60 to 70 houses were swept away in moments,' he told the Associated Press, adding that many bodies were left mutilated.
'Our police station was washed away too, and if we hadn't climbed to higher ground, we would not have survived,' he said.
Rescuers said that as water started to recede, they saw large swathes of the village destroyed, wrecked homes and giant rocks filling the streets.
'It was not just the floodwater, it was a flood of boulders as well, which we saw the first time in our lives,' said Sultan Syed, 45, who suffered a broken arm.
Mohammad Khan, 53, said the floods 'came so fast that many could not leave their homes', he said.
Most of the victims died before reaching hospital, said Mohammad Tariq, a doctor at a government hospital in Buner. 'Many among the dead were children and men, while women were away in the hills collecting firewood and grazing cattle,' he said.
Mourners attended mass funerals on Saturday as authorities supplied tents and food to people in Buner.
According to the provincial disaster management authority, at least 351 people have died in rain-related incidents this week across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Meanwhile, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, rescuers scoured the remote village of Chositi in the district of Kishtwar on Saturday, looking for dozens of missing people after it was hit by flash floods two days ago, killing 60 and injuring 150.
Thursday's floods struck during an annual Hindu pilgrimage in the area. Authorities have rescued more than 300 people while 4,00 pilgrims have been taken to safety.
Such cloudbursts are increasingly common in India's Himalayan regions and Pakistan's northern areas, and experts have said climate change is a contributing factor.
Pakistani officials said rescuers have evacuated more than 3,500 tourists trapped in flood-hit areas across the country since Thursday.
Many tourists have ignored government warnings that urged people to avoid flood-hit regions in the northern and north-western regions, fearing more landslides and flash floods.
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Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Pakistan defends flood response amid criticism as death toll rises to 274
BUNER, Pakistan — Rescuers recovered dozens more bodies from the rubble of collapsed homes in a northwestern district of Pakistan, bringing the death toll to at least 274, as authorities defended their response to the flooding and said they did not need any foreign help at this point. Heavy rains and flooding also killed dozens of people in neighboring Kashmir. Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for Pakistan's emergency service, said 54 bodies were found in Buner, a mountainous area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential rains and cloudbursts triggered massive flooding Friday. Suhail said villagers remain missing, and search efforts are focused on areas where homes were flattened by torrents of water that swept down from the mountains, carrying boulders that smashed into houses like explosions. Authorities have warned of more deluges and possible landslides between now and Tuesday, urging local administrations to remain on alert. Higher-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the country since June 26 and killed more than 600. In India-administered Kashmir, across Pakistan's northeastern border, rains triggered more flash floods in two villages in the Kathua district, killing seven people, officials said Sunday. Rescuers in Chositi village are still looking for dozens of missing people after the area was hit by flash floods last week during an annual Hindu pilgrimage. At least 60 people were killed, and some 150 injured. More than 300 others were rescued. Residents in Buner have accused officials of failing to warn them to evacuate after torrential rain and cloudbursts triggered deadly flooding and landslides. There was no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method in remote areas. The government said that although an early warning system was in place, the sudden downpour in Buner was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be alerted. Lt. Gen. Inam Haider, chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, said at a hastily convened news conference in Islamabad that Pakistan was experiencing shifting weather patterns because of climate change. Since the monsoon season began in June, Pakistan has already received 50% more rainfall than in the same period last year, he added. He warned that more intense weather could follow, with heavy rains forecast to continue this month. Some countries have reached out to Islamabad offering help, but Haider said Pakistan has sufficient resources and does not require foreign assistance at this time. Asfandyar Khan Khattak, director-general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said there was 'no forecasting system anywhere in the world' that could predict the exact time and location of a cloudburst — a sudden and intense downpour. Mohammad Iqbal, a schoolteacher in Pir Baba village, said the lack of a timely warning system caused casualties and forced many to flee their homes at the last moment. 'Survivors escaped with nothing,' he said. 'If people had been informed earlier, lives could have been saved and residents could have moved to safer places.' Idrees Mahsud, a disaster management official, said Pakistan's early warning system used satellite imagery and meteorological data to send alerts to local authorities. These were shared through the media and community leaders. He said monsoon rains that once only swelled rivers now also triggered urban flooding. An emergency services spokesman in Buner, Mohammad Sohail, said more than half the damaged roads in the district had reopened by Sunday, allowing vehicles and heavy machinery to reach cut-off villages. Crews were clearing piles of rocks and mud dumped by the floods. They were still using heavy machinery to remove the rubble of collapsed homes after families reported that some of their relatives were missing. In one of the deadliest incidents, 24 people from one family died in the village of Qadar Nagar when floodwaters swept through their home on the eve of a wedding. The head of the family, Umar Khan, said he survived the floods because he was out of the house at the time. Four of his relatives have yet to be found. Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. In 2022, a record-breaking monsoon killed nearly 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes. The country also suffers regular flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, particularly in the rugged northwest, where villages are often perched on steep slopes and riverbanks. Experts say climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events in South Asia. Khalid Khan, a weather expert, said Pakistan produces less than 1% of planet-warming emissions but faces heat waves, heavy rains, glacial outburst floods and now cloudbursts, underscoring how climate change is devastating communities within hours. Sajjad and Khan write for the Associated Press. AP writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Rasool Dawar in Buner contributed to this report.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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Pakistan defends flood response after more than 270 people killed
Rescuers recovered dozens more bodies from the rubble of collapsed homes in a north-western district of Pakistan, bringing the death toll to at least 274, as authorities defended their response to the flooding. Heavy rains and flooding also killed dozens of people in neighbouring Kashmir. Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for Pakistan's emergency service, said 54 bodies were found in Buner, a mountainous area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential rains and cloudbursts triggered massive flooding on Friday. Mr Suhail said villagers remained missing, and search efforts were focused on areas where homes were flattened by torrents of water that swept down from the mountains, carrying boulders that smashed into houses like explosions. Authorities have warned of more deluges and possible landslides between now and Tuesday, urging local administrations to remain on alert. Higher-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the country since June 26 and killed more than 600. In India-administered Kashmir, located across Pakistan's north-eastern border, rains triggered more flash floods in two villages in the Kathua district, killing seven people, officials said on Sunday. Rescuers in Chositi village are still looking for dozens of missing people after the area was hit by flash floods last week during an annual Hindu pilgrimage. At least 60 people were killed, and some 150 injured. More than 300 others were rescued. Residents in Buner have accused officials of failing to warn them to evacuate after torrential rain and cloudbursts triggered deadly flooding and landslides. There was no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method in remote areas. The government said that while an early warning system was in place, the sudden downpour in Buner was so intense that the deluge struck before residents could be alerted. Lieutenant General Inam Haider, chairman of the national disaster management authority, told a hastily convened news conference in Islamabad that Pakistan was experiencing shifting weather patterns because of climate change. Since the monsoon season began in June, Pakistan has already received 50% more rainfall than in the same period last year, he said. He warned that more intense weather could follow, with heavy rains forecast to continue this month. Some countries have reached out to Islamabad offering help, but Lt Gen Haider said Pakistan had sufficient resources and did not require foreign assistance at this time. Asfandyar Khan Khattak, director-general of the provincial disaster management authority, said there was 'no forecasting system anywhere in the world' that could predict the exact time and location of a cloudburst, a sudden and intense downpour. Idrees Mahsud, a disaster management official, said Pakistan's early warning system used satellite imagery and meteorological data to send alerts to local authorities. These were shared through the media and community leaders. An emergency services spokesman in Buner, Mohammad Sohail, said more than half the damaged roads in the district had reopened by Sunday, allowing vehicles and heavy machinery to reach cut-off villages. Crews were clearing piles of rocks and mud dumped by the floods. They were still using heavy machinery to remove the rubble of collapsed homes after families reported that some of their relatives were missing. Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. In 2022, a record-breaking monsoon killed nearly 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes. The country also suffers regular flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, particularly in the rugged north-west of the country, where villages are often perched on steep slopes and riverbanks. Experts say climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events in South Asia. Khalid Khan, a weather expert, said Pakistan produced less than 1% of planet-warming emissions but faced heat waves, heavy rains, glacial outburst floods and now cloudbursts, underscoring how climate change was devastating communities within hours.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Hundreds killed in Pakistan as flash floods sweep through homes
Rescue workers in northwestern Pakistan have expanded relief operations after flash floods killed more than 220 people in a single district. The mountainous Buner district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was struck by cloudbursts and torrential monsoon downpours on Friday, triggering flash floods and landslides. An emergency services spokesman in Buner, Mohammad Sohail, said on Sunday that more than half of the damaged roads have been reopened, allowing vehicles and heavy machinery to reach isolated villages. Crews are clearing piles of rocks and mud dumped by the floods. They were using heavy machinery on Sunday to remove the rubble of collapsed homes after families reported that some of their relatives were missing. In one of the deadliest incidents, 24 people from one family died in the village of Qadar Nagar when floodwaters swept through their home on the eve of a wedding. The head of the family, Umar Khan, said he survived the floods because he was out of the house at the time. Four of his relatives have yet to be found, he added. Provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur visited Buner on Saturday and announced that families of the dead will receive payments of PKR2m (£5,230) each. He said tents, food, and clean drinking water are being provided to prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases. According to a government statement, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is monitoring the relief operations and has ordered faster distribution of aid, evacuation of stranded people, and intensified searches for the missing. Pakistan's disaster management authority has warned of more deluges and possible landslides between 17 and 19 August, urging local administrations to remain on alert. Higher-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the country since 26 June and killed more than 600. Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. In 2022, a record-breaking monsoon killed nearly 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes. The country also suffers regular flash floods and landslides during the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, particularly in the rugged northwest, where villages are often perched on steep slopes and riverbanks. Experts say climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events in South Asia. In Indian-controlled Kashmir, torrential rains triggered flash floods in two villages in Kathua district that killed at least seven people and injured five overnight on Saturday, officials said. Rescue and relief operations are ongoing. In Kishtwar district, teams are continuing their efforts in the remote village of Chositi, looking for dozens of missing people after the area was hit by flash floods on Thursday 14 August. At least 60 were killed and some 150 injured, around 50 critically, in the disaster. The Kishtwar floods struck during an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a shrine in the Himalayas. Authorities rescued over 300 people, while some 4,000 pilgrims were evacuated to safety.
