16 dead, 17 missing as floods, landslides hit northwest Pakistan

ISLAMABAD:

A catastrophic wave of torrential rains and a deadly cloudburst wreaked havoc across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, leaving at least 198 people dead and 21 injured, while a Pakistan Army helicopter carrying flood relief supplies tragically crashed amid the chaos, killing all five personnel on board, officials confirmed.

According to a report released by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), a total of 198 people—comprising 172 men, 14 women, and 12 children—have died in rain-related incidents across the province in the last 24 hours.

At least 21 people have been injured, including 18 men. Rescue and relief efforts are underway in the affected regions.

The report also confirmed substantial infrastructural losses, with 68 houses damaged—seven of them completely destroyed and 61 partially affected.

Authorities have urged residents to remain alert, avoid unnecessary travel, and follow PDMA advisories issued through helpline 1700 and other official channels.

Meanwhile, a Pakistan Army MI-17 helicopter, which had been carrying relief supplies to rain-hit areas of Bajaur’s Salarzai tehsil, crashed in the Mohmand district after losing contact with air traffic control due to inclement weather.

K- P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, in a statement issued late Thursday, confirmed the tragedy. He said the helicopter had been en route to flood-stricken areas when it vanished from radar while still in Mohmand’s airspace.

“All efforts were made to re-establish contact with the helicopter, and immediate directives were issued to dispatch ground teams to the suspected crash site,” the chief minister said.

He added that a second helicopter was simultaneously conducting rescue operations in Buner district.

CM Gandapur announced that the provincial government will observe a day of mourning on Friday, during which the national flag will fly at half-mast across K-P.

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“These brave souls sacrificed their lives while attempting to save others. They are our true heroes, and their sacrifice will be written in golden letters in the history of this nation,” he stated.

The deceased personnel will be laid to rest with full state honours, and rescue teams have been deployed to the crash site to recover the remains and assess the wreckage. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

Separately, following the directive of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, the provincial government has released Rs500 million for districts affected by heavy rains and flash floods.

According to an official statement, Rs150 million has been allocated to Bunir, Rs100 million each to Bajaur, Battagram, and Mansehra, and Rs50 million to Swat.

PDMA said that under the chief minister’s special instructions, all relevant departments have been directed to expedite relief efforts, with PDMA teams and district administrations maintaining close coordination to continuously monitor the situation.

50 dead as rains, lightning hit Battagram, Shangla

At least 50 people have been confirmed dead and dozens remain missing after days of torrential rains, flash floods, and lightning strikes unleashed widespread devastation across the districts of Battagram and Shangla in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), officials said on Friday.

In Battagram’s Union Council Shimlai, a deadly lightning strike in the village of Dheri Haleem Neel Ban triggered a catastrophic flood, sweeping away homes and residents.

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Over 25 fatalities have been confirmed so far, including ten women and several children. As of the latest reports, 16 bodies have been recovered from different points along the Nandi Nandhaar stream, while rescue teams continue their search for the missing.

Rescue 1122, local police, and volunteers from Al-Khidmat Foundation have been engaged in relief and recovery operations since early morning.

Officials say the victims largely belonged to the same extended family. The lightning strike reportedly destroyed ten homes, which were swept away by the torrent into the stream.

Landslides, triggered by relentless rains, have blocked several connecting roads, while electricity and communication infrastructure in the area remains crippled.

Emergency has been declared in the district, and a damage assessment is underway. According to the district administration, teams under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner are still combing affected areas including Malikal Gali, Mandar Wali, Shimlai, and Battagram city in search of missing persons.

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Senior officials, including the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Relief & Human Rights), have reached the site to finalise loss assessments.

Meanwhile, in Alai Tehsil of Battagram, a parked vehicle was destroyed by lightning, and flash floods in Alai Khurd swept away four houses, seven bridges, and numerous livestock. Several rural link roads remain inaccessible due to landslides.

In neighbouring Shangla district, the situation is no less grim. Flash floods and lightning strikes have claimed the lives of over 20 people, with more than 50 injured and several others still unaccounted for.

Among the dead are seven members of a single family. The flooding has caused severe destruction to homes, shops, graveyards, and public infrastructure across the district.

The main Alpuri-Basham road has been washed away in two separate locations, cutting off ground access to several areas. Landslides and rising water have destroyed hundreds of residential structures. Protection walls, small hydroelectric stations, and agricultural fields have sustained extensive damage.

According to PESCO, over 35 electricity towers have been impacted, with power supply suspended across much of the district. While temporary restoration has been achieved in parts of Alpuri and adjoining areas, full recovery in Tehsil Puran, Kana, and Ranial may take up to three days.

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Puran Tehsil has emerged as the worst-affected area, where entire villages have been inundated for the first time in recorded history. Localities such as Kozpau, Aloch, and Choga remain underwater. Crops and orchards have been destroyed, and several residents collecting firewood along rivers were swept away in the floods.

District authorities have declared an emergency across Shangla and have initiated relief operations in the worst-hit areas. However, due to damaged infrastructure and continued rainfall, access and response remain challenging.

Officials fear the casualty count may rise further as assessments continue and weather conditions remain unstable.

Buner, Bajaur among worst-hit districts

The monsoon rains, which have lashed the province over the past week, have caused widespread destruction in multiple districts, with Bajaur, Buner and Battagram among the worst affected.

In Bajaur’s Salarzai tehsil, a cloudburst on Thursday triggered heavy flooding, leaving at least 21 people dead, including women and children. Deputy Commissioner Bajaur Shahid Ali confirmed that 18 bodies had been recovered, while rescue teams continued search efforts for those missing. Four houses were destroyed in the deluge, he said.

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DC Shahid said rescue teams comprising divers, medical personnel, and disaster response units were dispatched to the area immediately, despite roads being rendered impassable by landslides.

Relief efforts were carried out on foot in several cases. Heavy machinery has since been deployed to clear debris and facilitate search operations. In a coordinated response, Frontier Corps North also delivered tents and relief goods via helicopter.

In Buner district, authorities declared a state of emergency as Peer Baba and surrounding areas experienced severe flooding. Residents were left stranded on rooftops waiting for assistance.

Deputy Commissioner Buner confirmed 92 fatalities and lauded the heroism of local youth who risked their lives to rescue a visiting family from Punjab.

“Such acts of courage are rare,” he said, adding that swift response teams were working to move affected residents to safer locations.

The Peer Baba police station was inundated, while a mosque in Gokand was swept away by floodwaters. Dozens of livestock were also lost in the district.

Elsewhere, in Balakot’s Mahan Dari area, three labourers from Dir—Naveedullah, Sajad, and Ayaan Khan—were rescued after being trapped between two torrents following a sudden surge in water levels. They had been returning from turbine maintenance work when the flood hit.

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Swat district also witnessed extensive damage. Heavy rainfall washed away a 400-metre stretch of the Malam Jabba road near Gul Maira, prompting authorities to urge tourists to postpone travel. Floodwaters from Mingora Khwar inundated homes and businesses in Makan Bagh and Malak Baba, leading to mass evacuations.

Rising water levels in the Swat River prompted the district administration to issue warnings, advising the public to stay away from riverbanks and avoid unnecessary travel. The situation remained critical in Mingora, Charbagh, Khwazakhela, Matta, and Barikot tehsils.

In Manglor’s Besbanr area, lightning struck several houses during a storm, killing a young girl and leaving others missing.

Meanwhile, in the district of Swat, more than 2,000 people were moved to safer ground, after rivers and streams swelled, rescue officials said. Rescue operations also continued in Upper and Lower Dir, where dozens of tourists had become trapped in swollen streams in Shahi and Shahi Kot.

Officials have warned that heavy rainfall is expected to persist across the province until August 21, with vulnerable areas facing heightened risks of additional flooding and landslides.

Mourners offer funeral prayers for flood victims in Pakistan’s Bajaur district. Photo: AFP

Syed Muhammad Tayyab Shah, a representative of the national disaster agency, told AFP that this year’s monsoon season began earlier than usual and is expected to end later.

“The next 15 days, particularly from August 16 till the 30th of August, the intensity of the monsoon will further exacerbate,” he added.

Scientists say that climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and more frequent.

Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its population is contending with extreme weather events with increasing frequency.

Residents gather after a road was blocked by a fallen tree amid heavy rains in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, August 15, 2025. Photo: Reuters

The torrential rains that have pounded Pakistan since the start of the summer monsoon, described as “unusual” by authorities, have killed more than 320 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 and more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon.

In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.