Pakistan: More than 300 deaths due to flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the death toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday rose to 307.

Islamabad: Monsoon rains have wreaked havoc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More than 300 people have lost their lives in flash floods in just 48 hours. According to local media, the death toll is 307.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the death toll in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday rose to 307. About 12 people have lost their lives in Gilgit-Baltistan and 9 in PoK.

The heavy rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday were devastating. More than 200 people died in a single day in flash floods caused by heavy rains and cloudbursts in several districts. The dead also included five crew members of the provincial government helicopter. The helicopter crashed in Mohmand during relief and rescue operations.

According to a report by Dawn (Pakistani media), 184 people have lost their lives in the last 48 hours and Buner was the worst affected district. 36 people drowned in Shangla, 23 in Mansehra, 22 in Swat, 21 in Bajaur, 15 in Battagram, five in Lower Dir and one child in Abbottabad. 11 houses have been destroyed and 63 damaged due to the floods. Government schools in Swat and Shangla have been affected.

Buner DC Kashif Qayoom Khan also told Dawn that 30 people are missing in Chagarzai tehsil, while more than 100 people are injured. Search operations by rescue teams are underway.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has declared the severely affected hill districts of Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra and Battagram as disaster areas.

According to Pakistan's Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), about 2,000 rescue workers are engaged in removing bodies from the rubble and carrying out relief operations in nine affected districts. Heavy rains, landslides and washed out roads in many areas have made it difficult to deliver aid, especially heavy machinery and ambulances.