Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s flash floods have hit Buner the hardest, killing 184 of the total 307 victims.
Swat, Bajaur , Shangla , Buttgram, Mansehra and Torghar (formerly known as Kala Dhaka) saw major incidents of deaths and house collapses in the flash floods.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority KP reported floods damaged 74 houses in last 48-hour. of these, 63 were partially y damaged while 11 were completely destroyed, according to PDMA. Flash floods claimed the lives of 279 men, 15 women and 13 children. They left injured 17 men, four women and two children.
Reporting from Baishonri village in tehsil Pir Baba district Buner, BBC Urdu highlighted the story of prayer leader Maulana Abdul Samad. The story read that when flash floods struck his village, Maulana rushed to mosque to make announcement. He urged people to leave their homes. But when he returned, flash floods had washed away his own home. His all five family members are still missing.
A separate report quoting NDMA described total 320 deaths in flood in northern Pakistan. Of these, it said, 321 people perished in KP alone. It reported 12 deaths in Gilgit Baltistan and 11 fatalities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Authorities fear death toll may rise further as search operation is underway.
KP CM’s Adviser on Information Barrister Saif says flash floods and cloudbursts affected 3817 people in 11 districts.
How Do Flash Floods Occur?
According to US National Weather Service: Flash floods occur within a few minutes or hours of excessive rainfall. Other reasons might include a sudden release of water held by an ice jam or dam or levee failure. The natural disaster, it stated, could roll boulders, tear out trees, destroy bridges and buildings. It could scour out new channels. Its water could reach the heights of 30 feet or in even more. Rains amid the situation can trigger damages.
Monsoon rains in June wreaked havoc throughout out Pakistan and particularly parts of KP. Reports say Monsoon rains triggered flash floods and landslides, causing severe damages to human lives and infrastructure.
Relief Efforts:
KP government has released Rs500 million for relief activities and Rs1.55 billion for road restoration. It engaged over 2,000 rescue workers for relief operations. The army has allocated its one-day ration (over 600 tonnes) for aid. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already instructed the National Disaster Management Authority to conduct comprehensive relief operation in KP and AJK. He also spoke with KP CM, assuring him of the federal government full support in relief work.
