PESHAWAR: Torrential rains, cloudbursts, and flash floods have caused widespread devastation across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), leaving at least 330 people dead, dozens injured, and many others missing.
In KP’s Battagram, Bajaur, and Mansehra districts, landslides, flash floods, and cloudbursts claimed 307 lives and injured several people, while rescue teams continue searching for the missing.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the victims include 279 men, 15 women, and 13 children, while the injured comprise 17 men, four women, and two children. The torrential rains damaged 45 houses — seven completely and 38 partially — along with three schools. Incidents were reported in Bajaur, Battagram, Torghar, Mansehra, Swat, Buner, and Shangla, with Bajaur and Battagram suffering the worst damage.
The PDMA said all district administrations had been alerted earlier and directed to take precautionary steps. In light of the situation, authorities have been instructed to accelerate relief work, provide immediate assistance to victims, and reopen blocked tourist routes and roads.
Emergency in Buner
Deputy Commissioner Kashif Qayyum confirmed that floods in Gokand, Gadezai, and Pir Baba caused widespread destruction, killing 213 people. The bodies were shifted to THQ Pir Baba and DHQ Daggar, while a district-wide emergency was declared.
Bajaur
Salarzai and Jabarai were the hardest hit, where lightning strikes and cloudbursts killed at least 21 people, destroyed entire homes, and submerged multiple villages. Seven people remain missing as Rescue 1122 teams, alongside locals, continue operations.
Battagram
In Neil Band village on the Battagram–Mansehra border, a cloudburst around 3am Thursday swept away several houses. Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Saleem Khan confirmed that 18 people have been killed so far. Rescue teams, revenue staff, and volunteers from Alkhidmat Foundation are assisting in search efforts.
Local resident Noor Qadeem Shah said nine bodies were recovered, while nearly 20 people remain unaccounted for. Floodwaters also washed away small wooden bridges, livestock, roads, and local hydropower turbines.
Meanwhile, on the special directives of CM Ali Amin Gandapur, Rescue 1122’s water teams successfully evacuated around 1,200 tourists and residents from the flash floods at Siran.
