Rabat – Northwestern Pakistan reels from a wave of deadly flash floods, which have claimed at least 337 lives, with dozens more still missing, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
Torrential rains and sudden cloudbursts have swept through mountainous villages in recent days, leaving communities in shock.
In Kishtwar district, emergency teams reached the remote village of Chositi on Sunday, where at least 60 residents died and around 150 suffered injuries, including 50 critically.
Rescue workers in Buner district recovered 54 bodies from areas where torrents of water carried enormous boulders, destroying homes and sweeping away everything in their path. Several villagers remain unaccounted for.
Across the border in Indian-administered Kashmir, flash floods hit two villages in Kathua district, resulting in at least seven deaths and five injuries overnight.
Authorities warned of further heavy rains and landslides through Tuesday, urging local administrations to stay alert. Since June 26, higher-than-normal monsoon rains have killed more than 600 people across Pakistan.
Residents in Buner expressed anger at the absence of timely alerts. Mohammad Iqbal, a schoolteacher in Pir Baba village, described to Al Jazeera how villagers fled with nothing after torrents struck without warning. “If people had been informed earlier, lives could have been saved,” he said.
The government insisted that an early warning system exists but said the intensity of the downpour in Buner allowed little time for residents to respond.
Pakistan experiences frequent floods and landslides during the monsoon season, particularly in the rugged northwest, where villages perch on steep slopes or along riverbanks.
Experts say climate change intensifies these extreme weather events. Although Pakistan contributes less than one percent of global emissions, the country faces heatwaves, cloudbursts, glacial outburst floods, and sudden deluges that devastate communities within hours.
