Sudden Floods Devastate Pakistan’s Northern Regions
The Toll
Victims: 199 dead, 28 injured.
Deadliest: 180 lost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mountainous districts; 9 in Kashmir; 5 in Gilgit‑Baltistan.
Casualty profile: 19 women, 17 children, 5 pilots in a helicopter crash, plus 5 in a missile‑heavy hangar collapse.
The Damage
Flash floods & landslides: Over 80 houses collapsed; muddy torrents swallowed several villages.
Bajaur district: A tribal area bordering Afghanistan saw an excavator dig through a mud‑slick hill; funeral prayers began near a paddock, bodies shrouded by blankets.
Personal accounts: Resident Azizullah of Buner reported a “loud noise as if the mountain was sliding” and an “end‑of‑the‑world” tremor.
Official Responses
Disaster‑hit declaration: Buner, Bajaur, Mansehra, Battagram marked as emergency zones.
Helicopter incident: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, confirmed five deaths, including two pilots, due to severe weather during a relief mission.
Mourning day: Gandapur declared Saturday a mourning day; half‑mast flags across the province.
Meteorological Alerts
Heavy rain warning: Issued for north‑west Pakistan; residents advised to avoid vulnerable areas.
Monsoon overview: South Asia receives three‑quarters of its annual rainfall from monsoons; the season begins in June, eases by September.
Earlier start & later end: National disaster agency representative Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah highlighted an earlier monsoon and a projected prolonged intensity.
Climate‑change Context
Pakistan’s vulnerability: One of the world’s most exposed nations to climate change, experiencing extreme weather events more frequently.
Monsoon‑driven fatalities: Since the monsoon’s onset, more than 500 people have died, including 159 children.
July surge: Punjab recorded a 73% rainfall increase compared to the previous year, surpassing the entire prior monsoon’s death toll.
Historical comparison: 2022 monsoon floods submerged a third of the country, claiming around 1,700 lives.
Key Takeaway
Heavy monsoon rains in northern Pakistan have triggered flash floods and landslides, killing 199 people, including 180 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 15 in Kashmir, with widespread destruction of homes and severe weather incidents such as a helicopter crash.
The national authorities have declared disaster zones, a mourning day, and heavy rain alerts, while climate‑change scientists warn of increasingly extreme weather events worldwide.
