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Search operations have been extended to remote areas to find
residents swept away by floods that hit the mountainous district
of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, said
emergency services spokesman Mohammad Suhail. The army has
deployed engineers and heavy machinery to clear the rubble.
The death toll in Buner reached 277 on Monday after rescuers
recovered three bodies, Suhail said.
Villagers have accused officials of not telling them to evacuate
ahead of flooding and landslides. There was no warning broadcast
from mosque loudspeakers, a traditional method for alerting
emergencies in remote areas.
However, the government insists that while an early warning
system was in place, the sudden downpour was so intense that the
deluge struck before residents could be informed.
Provincial chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said Sunday that
many of the deaths could have been avoided had residents not
built homes along waterways and riverbanks. He added that the
government would encourage displaced families to relocate to
safer areas, where they would be assisted in rebuilding their
homes.
Pakistan has seen higher-than-normal monsoon rains since June
26, killing at least 645 people across the country, with 400
deaths in the northwest.
The National Disaster Management Authority issued an alert for
further flooding after new rains began Sunday in many parts of
the country.
The U.N. humanitarian agency said it has mobilized groups in
hard-hit areas, where damaged roads and communication lines have
cut off communities. Relief agencies are providing food, water
and other aid while preparing for longer-term recovery efforts.
Flooding has also hit India-administered Kashmir, where at least
67 people were killed and dozens remain missing after flash
floods swept through the region during an annual Hindu
pilgrimage.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep sorrow on
Sunday over the loss of life in Pakistan and India, while Pope
Leo XIV offered condolences after praying the Angelus in Castel
Gandolfo
Pakistan remains highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters.
In 2022, catastrophic floods linked to climate change killed
nearly 1,700 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
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