PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD: At least 189 people, including women and children, were killed as deadly floods hit different parts of Malakand Division and adjoining areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Friday, with Buner being the worst-affected district by the latest monsoon spell.
But there are conflicting reports about the number of people killed in the devastating floods, as the Buner deputy commissioner said 148 deaths had been reported in his district alone. It means the deaths in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have topped 250.
According to the PDMA, 91 of these deaths occurred in Buner which was hit by flash floods after a cloudburst.
However, it is feared that the death toll may rise further as many people are still missing.
Meanwhile, the PDMA says another 21 people were injured — 18 men, two women and one child. Out of the 189 deaths, 163 were men, 14 women and 12 children.
Also on Friday, a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government helicopter crashed in the Chengai Banda area of Mohmand, resulting in the death of five crewmembers. The helicopter was on its way for rescue efforts in Bajaur.
Meanwhile, the disaster management agency says 23 people were killed in Mansehra and Bajaur. The death toll for other districts is: Bajaur 21, Battagram 15, Swat 11 and Lower Dir five.
But it isn’t just Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the last 24 hours saw heavy rains and flash flooding in Azad Kashmir too. Authorities have reported nine deaths in the region, as hundreds of people stranded in Neelum Valley were rescued and shifted to safer places.
WHERE DID IT START?
It was Bajaur which first experienced the cloudburst and the resultant flash floods.
On the other hand, initial reports suggested at 10 people were confirmed dead and 18 others missing in Battagram — a district in Hazara Division, which borders Malakand.
Heavy downpour started lashing the region on Thursday night and continued well into the Friday morning, destroying many houses and other buildings as well as farmland.
The raging water in streams, nullahs and even roads forced people to take refuge on rooftops after unusually intense rain hit the region.
As water level rose in rivers and streams, many vehicles have also been reportedly swept away.
MORE RAINS
On the other hand, it seems there is no respite in store for the people in flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the Met Office has predicted rain-wind/thundershower the province during the next 24 hours. Isolated heavy rainfall is also expected during this period.
But the monsoon currents are expected to get stronger from August 17 (Friday) and would continue lashing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until August 21. Simultaneously, a westerly will also gain strength over the region, increasing the risk of heavy to very heavy rains.
A similar advisory has been issued for upper and central Punjab, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
CLIMATE CHANGE SANS BOUNDRIES
Earlier on Thursday, the same weather system had produced a cloudburst in Kishtwar district of Held Kashmir, killing at 46 with another 200 missing.
Meanwhile, the neighbouring Gilgit-Baltistan region also witnessed heavy downpour and flash floods on Thursday, as the latest monsoon started gripping the upper parts of Pakistan.
Intense downpours and even cloudburst are more frequent because of climate change or global warming that has disturbed weather patterns across the world at an alarming rate.
MONSOON, THE LIFELINE
The monsoon season brings South Asia about three-quarters of its annual rainfall, vital for agriculture and food security, but it also brings destruction.
Landslides and flash floods are common during the season, which usually begins in June and eases by the end of September.
Scientists say that climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and more frequent.
Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its population is contending with extreme weather events with increasing frequency.
The torrential rains that have pounded Pakistan since the start of the summer monsoon, described as “unusual” by authorities, have killed more than 320 people, nearly half of them children.
Most of the deaths were caused by collapsing houses, flash floods and electrocutions.
In July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan’s 255 million people, recorded 73 percent more rainfall than the previous year and more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon.
In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.
