KHAPLU/ISLAMABAD: Nearly 40 people were killed as a cloudburst, floods and landslides caused widespread destruction in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, authorities said on Friday.
A flash flood swept through the remote Jabarai village in KP’s Bajaur, a restive district that borders Afghanistan, following a cloudburst late on Thursday night, according to Amjad Khan, the KP Rescue 1122’s district emergency officer.
The raging currents swept away dozens of people, with authorities searching for survivors.
“Rescuers with the help of locals have so far retrieved 16 bodies and rescued three injured people from the debris and floodwaters,” Khan told Arab News.
“The injured were given first aid on-site before being shifted to a nearby hospital.”
In the Battagram district, flash floods killed at least 10 people, while 18 were missing, according to Rescue 1122. Another five people were killed and four injured after roof of a house collapsed in Lower Dir.
Rescue operations were underway in affected areas, while a provincial government helicopter has been dispatched for Bajaur on the instructions of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, according a statement issued from the CM’s office.
“Timely rescue operation must be ensured to search for missing persons,” CM Gandapur was quoted as saying by his office.
In the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, at least eight people were killed and several others injured after heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides in several areas, officials said on Thursday.
“Eight people were killed in different incidents in GB on Thursday. Six people were buried under the debris of flood in Khalti village of Ghizer.
Of them, four bodies have been recovered and two are still missing, while another five people were injured,” Tahir Shah, a senior official at GB Rescue 1122 service told Arab News.
“Similarly, a 70-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl were killed in Ishkoman Valley, Ghizer. Another two people were also killed in Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan. The deceased were brother and sister.”
The floods, which carried with them boulders, mud and tree trunks, caused extensive damage to houses, crops, orchards and infrastructure in the region that is home to thousands of glaciers and five of the world’s 14 peaks above 8,000 meters, according to officials.
“Many roads are blocked, homes and other infrastructure have been damaged,” GB government spokesman Faizullah Faraq told Arab News.
“Many villages near the rivers have been vacated and resident moved to safe places.”
The Karakoram Highway, which connects Pakistan with China, has been blocked in Upper Hunza, while landslides have blocked Baltistan Highway, Babusar Road, Deosai Road and Skardu-Sadpara Road at multiple locations, according to Faraq.
“The government is utilizing all resources to restore roads,” he said. “Rescue 1122, GBDMA and local administration are active for the rescue and recovery of missing persons, and emergency has been declared in affected areas.”
GB Home Minister Shams Lone has instructed all district administrations to issue emergency alerts and prioritize the safety of lives and property, according to a GB government statement. The minister asked for timely evacuation of at-risk populations, with advance notices to residents.
“We advise all travelers and tourists en route to Gilgit-Baltistan to immediately halt their journey,” the GBDMA said in its advisory. “Travelers are advised to exercise extreme caution and wait for further updates.”
Pakistan, which produces less than 1 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, has suffered disproportionately from climate-induced extreme weather patterns in recent years. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) put the nationwide monsoon death toll at 313 on Thursday, which is likely to exceed with fresh fatalities taken into account.
In 2022, torrential monsoon rains killed more than 1,700 people and caused damages over $30 billion to the nation.
