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The Journal
2 days ago
- Climate
- The Journal
Around 220 people die in floods and landslides in Pakistan that have washed away whole buildings
AT LEAST 220 people have died in Pakistan over the last day due to flash floods and landslides that have flattened homes and caused significant damage. 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 yesterday. Dozens of homes were swept away. One witness who escaped the deluges in Buner described seeing floodwaters carrying hundreds of boulders and 'tons of rocks' crashing down. Pakistan has had above-normal rain, which experts have linked to climate change, leading to floods and mudslides that have killed about 541 people since 26 June, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. First responders have been trying to recover bodies in the worst-hit villages of Pir Baba and Malik Pura, according to Kashif Qayyum, a deputy commissioner in Buner. A local police officer, Imtiaz Khan, who narrowly escaped the floods, 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. Advertisement Rescuers in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir Channi Anand / AP/PA Channi Anand / AP/PA / AP/PA 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 today 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 4,000 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.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Flash floods kill more than 280 people in India and Pakistan as thousands flee
India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other security personnel carry out a rescue operation after Thursday's flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Channi Anand) PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Flash floods triggered by torrential rains have killed over 280 people in India and Pakistan and left scores of others missing, officials said Friday, as rescuers brought to safety some 1,600 people from two mountainous districts in the neighboring countries. Flooding began a day earlier in Indian-controlled Kashmir and spread to the north and northwest in Pakistan, triggered by sudden, intense downpours over small areas. The floods and subsequent landslides injured dozens of people and forced the evacuation and rescue of thousands of others, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 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. Leaders in both countries offered their condolences to the victims' families and assured them of swift relief. Dozens missing in remote Himalayan village In Indian-controlled Kashmir, rescuers searched for missing people in the remote Himalayan village of Chositi after flash floods a day earlier left at least 60 people dead and at least 80 missing, officials said. At least 300 people were rescued Thursday following a powerful cloudburst that triggered floods and landslides, but the operation was halted overnight. Officials said many missing people were believed to have been washed away, and the number of missing could increase. Resident Harvinder Singh said he joined the rescue efforts immediately after the disaster and helped retrieve 33 bodies from the mud. At least 50 seriously injured people were treated at hospitals, many of them rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris. Chositi, in Kashmir's Kishtwar district, is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,500 feet). Officials said the pilgrimage, which began July 25 and was scheduled to end Sept. 5, was suspended. The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen for pilgrims, as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes. More than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen at the time of the flood, which also damaged or washed away many of the homes clustered together in the foothills, officials said. Sneha, who gave only one name, said her husband and a daughter were swept away. The two were having meals at the community kitchen while she and her son were nearby. The family had come for the pilgrimage, she said. Authorities erected makeshift bridges Friday to help stranded pilgrims cross a muddy water channel and used dozens of earthmovers to shift boulders, uprooted trees, electricity poles and other debris. Nearly 4,000 pilgrims were evacuated, officials said. Photos and videos on social media showed household goods strewn next to damaged vehicles and homes in the village. Kishtwar district is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region's fragile ecosystem. More heavy rain and floods were forecast for the area. Hundreds of tourists trapped by floods in Pakistan In northern and northwestern Pakistan, flash floods killed at least 243 people, including 157 who died Friday in the Buner district in northwest Pakistan. Mohammad Suhail told The Associated Press that dozens of people were still missing, and rescue operations were underway. He said 78 bodies were recovered by midday Friday, and another 79 were pulled from the rubble of collapsed homes and flooded villages later. 'The death toll may rise as we are still looking for dozens of missing people,' Suhail said. Dozens were injured as the deluge destroyed homes in villages in Buner, where authorities declared a state of emergency on Friday. Rescuers backed by boats and helicopters worked to reach stranded residents. Ambulances transported more than 100 bodies to hospitals, according to a government statement. Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said rescuers worked for hours to save 2,000 tourists trapped by flash flooding and landslides in the Siran Valley in Mansehra district and elsewhere on Thursday. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at an emergency meeting, ordered the disaster-management authority to ensure the evacuation of tourists and all those hit by the floods. A helicopter carrying relief supplies to the northwestern Bajaur region crashed due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said. The latest fatalities bring the total number of rain-related deaths to 556 since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Region hit by multiple floods in recent weeks Pakistan's 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 that tourists use to travel to the scenic north. The region is home to scenic glaciers that provide 75 per cent of Pakistan's stored water supply. During the summer, when schools are closed for more than two months, hundreds of thousands of people travel to scenic destinations in northern and northwestern Pakistan. This year, despite repeated government warnings about landslides and flash floods, many still visited popular resorts in flood-hit areas. Pakistan's disaster-management agency has issued fresh alerts for glacial lake outburst flooding in the north, warning travelers to avoid affected areas. A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan from June 24 to July 23 was 10 per cent to 15 per cent heavier because of global warming. In 2022, the country's worst monsoon season on record killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated US$40 billion in damage. By Channi Anand And Riaz Khan Khan reported from Peshawar, Pakistan. Contributors from Pakistan include Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Anwarullah Khan in Bajur, Abdul Rehman in Gilgit, Rasool Dawar in Peshawar and Ishfaq Hussain in Muzaffarabad.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Glasgow Times
Flash floods triggered by torrential rains kill 280 in India and Pakistan
In Pakistan, a helicopter carrying relief supplies to the flood-hit north-western Bajaur crashed on Friday due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said. Sudden, intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in India's Himalayan regions and Pakistan's northern areas, which are prone to flash floods and landslides. India's National Disaster Response Force and other security personnel carry out a rescue operation after flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions. Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly because of climate change, while damage from the storms has also increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions. In India-controlled Kashmir, rescuers searched for missing people in the remote Himalayan village of Chositi on Friday after flash floods a day earlier left at least 60 people dead and at least 80 missing, officials said. Officials halted rescue operations overnight but rescued at least 300 people on Thursday after a powerful cloudburst triggered floods and landslides. They said many missing people were believed to have been washed away. At least 50 seriously injured people were treated in local hospitals, many of them rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris. Disaster management official Mohammed Irshad said the number of missing people could increase. Weather officials forecast more heavy rains and floods in the area. Stranded pilgrims are helped across a water channel using a makeshift bridge a day after flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Chositi, in Kashmir's Kishtwar district, is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,500ft). Officials said the pilgrimage, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5, was suspended. The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen set up for the pilgrims, as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes. More than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen at the time of the flood, which also damaged or washed away many of the homes clustered together in the foothills, officials said. Sneha, who gave only one name, said her husband and a daughter were swept away as floodwater gushed down the mountain. The two were having meals at the community kitchen while she and her son were nearby. Local residents look at flash flooding due to heavy rains in a neighbourhood of Mingora, the main town of Swat Valley, north-western Pakistan (Naveed Ali/AP) The family had come for the pilgrimage, she said. Photos and videos on social media show extensive damage with household goods strewn next to damaged vehicles and homes in the village. Authorities made makeshift bridges on Friday to help stranded pilgrims cross a muddy water channel, and used dozens of earthmovers to shift boulders, uprooted trees and electricity poles and other debris. Throughout Friday, authorities evacuated nearly 4,000 pilgrims stranded in various parts of the forested area, officials said. Kishtwar district is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region's fragile ecosystem. Houses are submerged in floodwater following flash flooding due to heavy rains in Buner district, in Pakistan's north west (Provincial Disaster Management Authority via AP) In northern and north-western Pakistan, flash floods killed at least 243 people in the past 24 hours, including 157 in the flood-hit Buner district in north-west Pakistan on Friday. Mohammad Suhail told the Associated Press that dozens of people were still missing, and rescue operations were under way. He said 78 bodies were recovered from various parts of the district by midday on Friday, and another 79 were pulled from the rubble of collapsed homes and flooded villages later. Dozens were injured as the deluge destroyed homes in villages in Buner, where authorities declared a state of emergency Friday. Ambulances have taken 56 bodies to local hospitals, according to a government statement. The helicopter that crashed on Friday was on a relief mission when it went down in the north west, provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said. At least 35 people were still missing in these areas, according to local officials. Rescuers with boats and helicopters worked to reach stranded residents. Dozens of villagers were still missing and the death toll is likely to rise, Buner government administrator Kashif Qayyum said. The latest fatalities bring the total number of rain-related deaths to 556 since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Household goods are strewn around next to buildings damaged by flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Deaths were reported from different parts of Pakistan on Thursday. Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said rescuers worked for hours to save 1,300 tourists after they were trapped by flash flooding and landslides in the Siran Valley in Mansehra district on Thursday. The Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan has been hit by multiple floods since July, triggering landslides along the Karakoram Highway, a key trade and travel route linking Pakistan and China that is used by tourists to travel to the scenic north. The region is home to scenic glaciers that provide 75% of Pakistan's stored water supply. Pakistan's disaster management agency has issued fresh alerts for glacial lake outburst flooding in the north, warning travellers to avoid affected areas. A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan from June 24 to July 23 was 10% to 15% heavier because of global warming. In 2022, the country's worst monsoon season on record killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated 40 billion dollars in damage.
Western Telegraph
3 days ago
- Climate
- Western Telegraph
Flash floods triggered by torrential rains kill 280 in India and Pakistan
In Pakistan, a helicopter carrying relief supplies to the flood-hit north-western Bajaur crashed on Friday due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said. Sudden, intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in India's Himalayan regions and Pakistan's northern areas, which are prone to flash floods and landslides. India's National Disaster Response Force and other security personnel carry out a rescue operation after flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions. Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly because of climate change, while damage from the storms has also increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions. In India-controlled Kashmir, rescuers searched for missing people in the remote Himalayan village of Chositi on Friday after flash floods a day earlier left at least 60 people dead and at least 80 missing, officials said. Officials halted rescue operations overnight but rescued at least 300 people on Thursday after a powerful cloudburst triggered floods and landslides. They said many missing people were believed to have been washed away. At least 50 seriously injured people were treated in local hospitals, many of them rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris. Disaster management official Mohammed Irshad said the number of missing people could increase. Weather officials forecast more heavy rains and floods in the area. Stranded pilgrims are helped across a water channel using a makeshift bridge a day after flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Chositi, in Kashmir's Kishtwar district, is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,500ft). Officials said the pilgrimage, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5, was suspended. The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen set up for the pilgrims, as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes. More than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen at the time of the flood, which also damaged or washed away many of the homes clustered together in the foothills, officials said. Sneha, who gave only one name, said her husband and a daughter were swept away as floodwater gushed down the mountain. The two were having meals at the community kitchen while she and her son were nearby. Local residents look at flash flooding due to heavy rains in a neighbourhood of Mingora, the main town of Swat Valley, north-western Pakistan (Naveed Ali/AP) The family had come for the pilgrimage, she said. Photos and videos on social media show extensive damage with household goods strewn next to damaged vehicles and homes in the village. Authorities made makeshift bridges on Friday to help stranded pilgrims cross a muddy water channel, and used dozens of earthmovers to shift boulders, uprooted trees and electricity poles and other debris. Throughout Friday, authorities evacuated nearly 4,000 pilgrims stranded in various parts of the forested area, officials said. Kishtwar district is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region's fragile ecosystem. Houses are submerged in floodwater following flash flooding due to heavy rains in Buner district, in Pakistan's north west (Provincial Disaster Management Authority via AP) In northern and north-western Pakistan, flash floods killed at least 243 people in the past 24 hours, including 157 in the flood-hit Buner district in north-west Pakistan on Friday. Mohammad Suhail told the Associated Press that dozens of people were still missing, and rescue operations were under way. He said 78 bodies were recovered from various parts of the district by midday on Friday, and another 79 were pulled from the rubble of collapsed homes and flooded villages later. Dozens were injured as the deluge destroyed homes in villages in Buner, where authorities declared a state of emergency Friday. Ambulances have taken 56 bodies to local hospitals, according to a government statement. The helicopter that crashed on Friday was on a relief mission when it went down in the north west, provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said. At least 35 people were still missing in these areas, according to local officials. Rescuers with boats and helicopters worked to reach stranded residents. Dozens of villagers were still missing and the death toll is likely to rise, Buner government administrator Kashif Qayyum said. The latest fatalities bring the total number of rain-related deaths to 556 since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Household goods are strewn around next to buildings damaged by flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Deaths were reported from different parts of Pakistan on Thursday. Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said rescuers worked for hours to save 1,300 tourists after they were trapped by flash flooding and landslides in the Siran Valley in Mansehra district on Thursday. The Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan has been hit by multiple floods since July, triggering landslides along the Karakoram Highway, a key trade and travel route linking Pakistan and China that is used by tourists to travel to the scenic north. The region is home to scenic glaciers that provide 75% of Pakistan's stored water supply. Pakistan's disaster management agency has issued fresh alerts for glacial lake outburst flooding in the north, warning travellers to avoid affected areas. A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan from June 24 to July 23 was 10% to 15% heavier because of global warming. In 2022, the country's worst monsoon season on record killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated 40 billion dollars in damage.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Climate
- Glasgow Times
Flash floods triggered by torrential rains kill 200 in India and Pakistan
In Pakistan, a helicopter carrying relief supplies to the flood-hit north-western Bajaur crashed on Friday due to bad weather, killing all five people on board, including two pilots, a government statement said. Sudden, intense downpours over small areas known as cloudbursts are increasingly common in India's Himalayan regions and Pakistan's northern areas, which are prone to flash floods and landslides. Cloudbursts have the potential to wreak havoc by causing intense flooding and landslides, impacting thousands of people in the mountainous regions. India's National Disaster Response Force and other security personnel carry out a rescue operation after flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Experts say cloudbursts have increased in recent years partly because of climate change, while damage from the storms has also increased because of unplanned development in mountain regions. In India-controlled Kashmir, rescuers searched for missing people in the remote Himalayan village of Chositi on Friday after flash floods a day earlier left at least 60 people dead and at least 80 missing, officials said. Officials halted rescue operations overnight but rescued at least 300 people on Thursday after a powerful cloudburst triggered floods and landslides. They said many missing people were believed to have been washed away. At least 50 seriously injured people were treated in local hospitals, many of them rescued from a stream filled with mud and debris. Disaster management official Mohammed Irshad said the number of missing people could increase. Weather officials forecast more heavy rains and floods in the area. Chositi, in Kashmir's Kishtwar district, is the last village accessible to motor vehicles on the route of an ongoing annual Hindu pilgrimage to a mountainous shrine at an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,500ft). Stranded pilgrims are helped across a water channel using a makeshift bridge a day after flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Officials said the pilgrimage, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5, was suspended. The devastating floods swept away the main community kitchen set up for the pilgrims, as well as dozens of vehicles and motorbikes. More than 200 pilgrims were in the kitchen at the time of the flood, which also damaged or washed away many of the homes clustered together in the foothills, officials said. Photos and videos on social media show extensive damage with household goods strewn next to damaged vehicles and homes in the village. Authorities made makeshift bridges on Friday to help stranded pilgrims cross a muddy water channel. Kishtwar district is home to multiple hydroelectric power projects, which experts have long warned pose a threat to the region's fragile ecosystem. Houses are submerged in floodwater following flash flooding due to heavy rains in Buner district, in Pakistan's north west (Provincial Disaster Management Authority via AP) In northern and north-western Pakistan, flash floods killed at least 164 people in the past 24 hours, including 78 people who died in the flood-hit Buner district in north-west Pakistan on Friday. Dozens were injured as the deluge destroyed homes in villages in Buner, where authorities declared a state of emergency on Friday. Ambulances have transported 56 bodies to local hospitals, according to a government statement. Rescuers evacuated 1,300 stranded tourists from a mountainous Mansehra district hit by landslides on Thursday. At least 35 people were reported missing in these areas, according to local officials. Rescuers backed by boats and helicopters worked to reach stranded residents. More than 477 people, mostly women and children, have died in rain-related incidents across the country since June 26, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Household goods are strewn around next to buildings damaged by flash floods in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Indian-controlled Kashmir (Channi Anand/AP) Deaths were reported from different parts of Pakistan on Thursday. Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said rescuers worked for hours to save 1,300 tourists after they were trapped by flash flooding and landslides in the Siran Valley in Mansehra district on Thursday. The Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan has been hit by multiple floods since July, triggering landslides along the Karakoram Highway, a key trade and travel route linking Pakistan and China that is used by tourists to travel to the scenic north. The region is home to scenic glaciers that provide 75% of Pakistan's stored water supply. Pakistan's disaster management agency has issued fresh alerts for glacial lake outburst flooding in the north, warning travellers to avoid affected areas. A study released this week by World Weather Attribution, a network of international scientists, found rainfall in Pakistan from June 24 to July 23 was 10% to 15% heavier because of global warming. In 2022, the country's worst monsoon season on record killed more than 1,700 people and caused an estimated 40 billion dollars in damage.
