More than 300 people have died in northern Pakistan after two days of relentless monsoon rains triggered flash floods, landslides, lightning strikes, and cloudbursts, officials said on Saturday. The region has experienced the deadliest downpour of this year’s monsoon season.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority confirmed 307 fatalities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with additional people reported missing. Buner district, north of Islamabad, has been the hardest-hit, with 184 confirmed deaths.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of widespread destruction. In Bajaur district near the Afghan border, Saeedullah lost his wife and five children when their house collapsed during a thunderstorm. “There is destruction everywhere, piles of rubble,” he said, describing how he and his neighbors recovered the bodies and buried them with community help.
Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s 1122 rescue service, warned that the death toll could rise as more bodies are recovered from collapsed homes. “There was no time for anyone to react,” he said, describing a cloudburst in Buner that swept villages downstream.
Local resident Zahid Hussain said his village of Beshonrai lost more than 30 homes, with over 60 people killed and 20 missing. “The floodwater washed away our house in front of our eyes,” he said. Hussain rescued a nephew trapped by the rising waters and brought him to a hospital in Buner.
Rescue and relief operations are underway, with both civilian and military teams deployed. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said the prime minister had chaired an emergency meeting, while Provincial Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah confirmed that medical camps and food aid are being set up for displaced families.
Tragedy struck during the rescue efforts when a helicopter crashed due to bad weather on Friday, killing all five crew members.
Pakistan’s chief meteorologist, Zaheer Babar, noted that the frequency and severity of extreme weather events have increased. Heavy mountain rainfall often reaches lower-lying areas suddenly, creating deadly flash floods. He cited climate change as a contributing factor, compounded by unsafe housing near rivers, constricted waterways, and garbage-blocked channels, all worsening the impact of floods.
Neighboring India and Nepal have also faced severe rainfall and flooding over the past week, highlighting the regional impact of this year’s monsoon season.
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