More than 280 dead after flash floods hit India and Pakistan
Dozens more are missing after torrential rains struck two mountainous districts in the neighbouring countries.
Some 1,600 people have been brought to safety.
In India -controlled Kashmir, at least 60 people were killed in the remote Himalayan village of Chasoti in the Jammu and Kashmir region on Thursday.
Chasoti, around 85 miles (136km) northeast of Jammu, is the last village accessible to vehicles on the route of an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine, the Machail Mata temple.
More than 80 people have been reported missing, and officials believe many of those were washed away in the floods.
Forecasters say more heavy rains and floods could hit the area.
Officials halted rescue operations overnight but rescued at least 300 people on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, at least 243 people have died in flash floods, including 157 people in Buner district in the northwestern district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Authorities there have declared a state of emergency.
Rescuers evacuated 1,300 tourists from the mountainous Mansehra district who were trapped by flash flooding and landslides in the Siran Valley on Thursday, according to Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman.
A helicopter carrying relief supplies to the flood-hit northwestern region of Bajaur crashed on Friday due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said.
Pakistan's disaster management agency has issued fresh alerts for glacial lake outburst flooding in the north, warning people to avoid affected areas.
The Gilgit-Baltistan region has been hit by multiple floods since July, triggering landslides along the Karakoram Highway, a key trade and travel route linking Pakistan and China.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Pakistan expands rescue and relief efforts after floods kill over 200 in a single district
Rescue workers in northwestern Pakistan expanded relief operations Sunday after flash floods killed more than 220 people in a single district, officials said. Buner, a mountainous 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 more than half of the damaged roads in the district 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 2 million rupees ($7,200) 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 Aug. 17 and 19, urging local administrations to remain on alert. Higher-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the country since June 26 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, officials said. Rescue and relief operations are underway. 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 three days earlier. At least 60 were killed and some 150 injured, about 50 in critical condition, in the disaster. Thursday's floods struck during an annual Hindu pilgrimage. Authorities rescued over 300 people, while some 4,000 pilgrims were evacuated to safety.
Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Pakistan flash floods: At least 220 dead as boulders crash through villages
Pakistan's Meteorological Department has predicted torrential rains in the coming days and warned that monsoon activity was likely to intensify from Sunday Flooding in northwest Pakistan has killed at least 220 people, officials have confirmed. Over the last 48 hours parts of the country have been hit by flash flooding leaving dozens of homes were swept away and first responders frantically searching for survivors. In India-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 earlier, killing 60 and injuring some 150, about 50 in critical condition. Pakistani officials said rescuers since Thursday more than 3,500 tourists trapped in flood-hit areas have been evacuated. Many travelers have ignored government warnings about avoiding vulnerable regions in the north and northwest. Rescuers pulled 63 more bodies overnight from homes flattened by flash floods and landslides. One eyewitness, who escaped the deluges in Buner, described seeing floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders and 'tons of rocks' crashing down. Hundreds of rescue workers are still searching for survivors in Buner, one of several places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where torrential rains and cloudbursts caused 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 from the worst-hit villages of Pir Baba and Malik Pura, where most of the fatalities were, said Kashif Qayyum, a deputy commissioner in Buner. Local police officer Imtiaz Khan, who narrowly escaped the deluges, said floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders struck and flattened homes within minutes. 'A stream near 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,' Khan 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,' Khan said. Pakistan's Meteorological Department has predicted torrential rains in the coming days and warned that monsoon activity was likely to intensify from Sunday, including in the north and northwest. Pakistani leaders, including the prime minister and president, offered their condolences to the families of the dead and said they were praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Mourners attended mass funerals on Saturday, while authorities supplied tents and food to people in Buner.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Flash floods kill hundreds in Pakistan as fast-flowing water sends boulders crashing through villages
Flash floods across northern Pakistan and India-controlled Kashmir have killed at least 344 people in the past 48 hours, local authorities said on Saturday. Most of the deaths, 328, were reported in the mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. Eleven more people were killed in Kashmir, while five died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. Another five people, including two pilots, were killed when a local government helicopter crashed as a result of the bad weather during a relief mission on Friday. Rescuers began a third day of scouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday, while others looked for missing people in the Kishtwar district of Kashmir. Mass funerals were held in the Buner district, one of the worst-hit areas, where 184 people were reported dead by local officials. The majority were killed in flash floods or when houses collapsed, while at least 120 others have been injured. One eyewitness, who escaped the deluges in Buner, described seeing floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders and 'tons of rocks' crashing down. Hundreds of rescue workers are still searching for survivors in Buner, one of several places where torrential rains and cloudbursts caused 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 from the worst-hit villages of Pir Baba and Malik Pura, where most of the fatalities were, said Kashif Qayyum, a deputy commissioner in Buner. Local police officer Imtiaz Khan, who narrowly escaped the deluges, said floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders struck and flattened homes within minutes. 'A stream near 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,' Khan 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,' Khan said. Pakistan's Meteorological Department predicted torrential rains in the coming days and warned that monsoon activity was likely to intensify from Sunday onwards, including in the north and northwest. Rescuers said they saw large swathes of Pir Baba village destroyed, wrecked homes, and giant rocks filling the streets as the water started to recede. 'It was not just the floodwater, it was a flood of boulders as well, which we saw for 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.' Most victims died before reaching the hospital, said Mohammad Tariq, a doctor in Buner. 'Many among the dead were children and men, while women were away in the hills collecting firewood and grazing cattle.' Pakistani leaders, including the prime minister and president, offered their condolences to the families of the dead and said they were praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, said efforts were underway to repair roads and other damaged infrastructure. Pakistan has received higher-than-normal monsoon rainfall this year, which experts link to climate change, triggering floods and mudslides that have killed some 541 people since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Mourners attended mass funerals on Saturday, while authorities supplied tents and food to people in Buner. Local cleric Mufti Fazal had led funeral prayers at multiple locations since Friday morning. 'Before yesterday's floods, the area was bustling with life. Now, there is grief and sorrow everywhere.' Schoolteacher Suleman Khan lost 25 members of his extended family. He and his brother survived only because they were away from home when the floods hit his village Qadar Nagar. In Pir Baba, mourners laid out the covered bodies of their loved ones on wooden bedframes or bore them aloft ahead of burials. In a hospital, paramedics placed blocks of ice next to the deceased or comforted the injured. 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. In India-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 earlier, killing 60 and injuring some 150, about 50 in critical condition. Thursday's floods struck during an annual Hindu pilgrimage in the area. Authorities have rescued over 300 people, while some 4,000 pilgrims have been evacuated 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 since Thursday have evacuated more than 3,500 tourists trapped in flood-hit areas across the country. Many travelers have ignored government warnings about avoiding vulnerable regions in the north and northwest. Pakistan witnessed its worst-ever monsoon season in 2022. It killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated $40 billion in damage.
