Pakistan: Torrential monsoon rains kill 200 in 24 hours
Torrential and sudden rains killed nearly 200 people in 24 hours in northern Pakistan on Thursday and Friday, bringing the number of deaths since the monsoon season began in late June to more than 500. This latest toll was announced on the afternoon of Friday, August 15.
In the last 24 hours, the deadliest torrential rains have occurred in various districts of the mountainous province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan , where 110 deaths have been reported. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority has recorded 53 deaths in the district of Buner alone, 18 in Bajaur and 15 in Battagram, all declared "disasters" and where "rescue teams have been deployed as reinforcements" .
"In Buner district, a dozen villages were severely affected by the downpours," the authority added, adding that dozens of houses, schools, and public buildings were damaged. Seven other people were killed in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, while in Indian-administered Kashmir, at least 60 victims were recorded in a Himalayan village. The victims were "killed when their houses collapsed" or "when their vehicles were caught in landslides," a spokeswoman said.
A Pakistani rescue helicopter crashed while en route to disaster areas, the provincial prime minister announced. "All five crew members, including two pilots, died," the chief minister of the mountainous Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province said.
Torrential rains hitting Pakistan since the start of a summer monsoon season described as "unusual" have killed more than 350 people, nearly half of them children. In July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan's 255 million people, recorded 73 percent more rainfall than the previous year.
In this month alone, the province recorded more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon. Authorities warn that the rains will intensify further by the end of the summer monsoon in mid-September.
The monsoon season brings 70% to 80% of South Asia's annual rainfall between June and September and is vital to the livelihoods of millions of farmers in a region with a population of around two billion. But it can also cause devastating floods, as in 2022, when torrential rains affected nearly a third of the country and more than 33 million people. Some 1,700 people were killed and a significant portion of the harvest was lost.
Pakistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and its inhabitants are experiencing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.
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