Cloudburst Triggers Catastrophic Floods: 340 Dead in 48 Hours, Hundreds Missing

Islamabad (The Uttam Hindu): Heavy rains and cloudbursts have caused massive floods in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and surrounding areas. So far, about 340 people have died and more than 137 people have been injured in the last 48 hours. About 2,000 relief workers are engaged in search and rescue operations in 9 districts including Buner, Swat, Shangla, Battagram, Bajaur and Mansehra. On Saturday, relief teams recovered 63 more bodies from the debris. The Meteorological Department has warned that rain may intensify in the coming days.

Most devastation in Buner

The most serious situation was in Peer Baba and Malikpura villages of Buner district, where dozens of houses were swept away by water and rock debris. Deputy Commissioner Kashif Qayyum said rescue teams were continuously trying to retrieve bodies and rescue trapped people. Local police officer Imtiyaz Khan said the sudden strong current destroyed the entire village in a matter of minutes. "60 to 70 houses were swept away, bodies were lying in mutilated condition and our police station was also washed away," he said.

Deaths before reaching hospital

Dr. Mohammad Tariq said that most of the dead had died before reaching the hospital. The number of children and men among the dead is high. Many women had gone to collect wood and graze cattle in the hills at that time. Sultan Syed, 45, said that the flood water came with stones and rocks. "We have seen such a horrific sight for the first time," he said.

351 deaths, climate change responsible

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, at least **351 people** have died in rain and related incidents in the northern areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan this week. Experts have cited **climate change** as the main reason for this. In 2022 also, Pakistan suffered the worst floods, which killed more than 1,700 people and caused losses of about $ 40 billion.

Alert in Punjab too

Meanwhile, the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority has issued a **Red Alert** in several districts. The Tarbela dam has been filled up to 98 percent, while the water level in the Mangla dam has reached 68 percent. The water being released from India has also increased to 50 thousand cusecs, due to which the situation is likely to worsen further.