Islamabad: More than 300 people are dead in northwest Pakistan after two days of heavy rains and flash floods, local officials said on Saturday. The deluge hit the remote mountainous northern part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, with cloud bursts, flash floods, lightning strikes, and landslides in the deadliest downpour of this year's monsoon season.
According to Bahrain News Agency, by Saturday, 307 were confirmed dead, with more people missing, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. Parts of neighboring India and Nepal have also been hit hard by heavy rains, flooding, and other rain-related incidents over the past week.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for the country's official 1122 rescue service, said that he expected the death toll to climb as more bodies are recovered from under the debris of homes. Buner district, north of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, was the worst-hit, with 184 confirmed killed so far. Faizi reported a cloud burst in Buner early on Friday, creating a torrent of water that swept down to the villages below. "There was no time for anyone to react," Faizi said. More than 30 homes in the village were swept away.
Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, stated that civilian and military teams were carrying out rescue and relief operations, while the prime minister had chaired an emergency meeting. Provincial Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah said that local officials had been dispatched to the flooded areas to supervise relief operations and assess the damage. He mentioned that medical camps were being set up for the flood victims, along with arrangements to provide food for families who lost their homes.
On Friday, a rescue helicopter crashed due to bad weather, killing the five crew members. Zaheer Babar, Pakistan's chief meteorologist, noted an increase in the frequency and destructiveness of extreme weather events. He explained that heavy rainfall in the mountains meant people in lower-lying areas were not aware of the strength of the downpour until it reached them as a flash flood.