MUZAFFARABAD/GILGIT/BAJAUR: At least 25 people, including women and children, have lost their lives after torrential rains triggered flash floods and landslides across the northern parts of Pakistan on Thursday.
The worst-hit areas include Gilgit-Baltistan, parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), and Bajaur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, three people, including a woman, were killed in Khalthi valley of district Ghizer, where more than half a dozen houses were buried under debris. Three others remain missing, with rescue teams conducting search operations, The News reported.
In Diamer’s Bonar area, a brother and sister were swept away by raging floodwaters, while a child was injured in a landslide on the Babusar road.
Flash floods also ravaged Ghizer’s Yasin Thoi, damaging houses, schools, water tanks and agricultural land. Landslides disrupted travel on the Baltistan and Sadpara roads, while Thor in Diamer reported severe destruction. The Astore valley wasn’t spared either. Floods also damaged agricultural land and roads in the area.
Meanwhile, in Kohistan, floods damaged a bridge on the Karakoram Highway, disrupting traffic between GB and rest of the country.
The GB government has imposed emergency measures in several areas, directing the GB Disaster Management Authority (GBDMA) and Rescue 1122 to remain on high alert. Relief and search operations are under way despite challenging weather conditions. “This is a testing time for Gilgit-Baltistan,” said Faraq. “The government is mobilising all available resources to assist the affected communities.”
Meanwhile, six members of the same family were killed in a cloudburst in Naseerabad Tehsil of Muzaffarabad. Torrential rains and flash flooding in various areas of Azad Kashmir caused rivers to overflow.
Heavy rains in Bagh district caused rivers to overflow, and high levels of flooding occurred in the Bhimbar drain in Samahni, which swept away a tourist vehicle. However, all the people were rescued.
There was also an extraordinary increase in water flow in Jhelum Valley, Samahni, Hattian Bala and Neelum Valley.
AJK Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq chaired an emergency meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and ordered the relocation of residents living along riverbanks to safer places.
During the meeting, the premier also approved financial assistance for rain-affected families and directed that housing be provided to those whose homes were destroyed.
The premier also ordered the establishment of emergency checkpoints to monitor water resources.
The government also announced the closure of public and private schools on August 15 and 16 owing to continued heavy rains and the risk of landslides.
Meanwhile, AJK Information Minister Mazhar Saeed, in a video statement from the tourist spot of Ratti Gali in Neelum Valley, said over 700 tourists, including more than 300 women and children, were stranded after a cloudburst washed away sections of the road.
Due to bad weather, he noted, authorities have stopped tourists from leaving the area and arranged free accommodation with the help of local residents.
In KP’s Bajaur, at least nine people have died and four others were injured following severe flash floods and landslides in the Jabrrai and Salarzai areas.
According to rescue officials, the flooding was triggered by torrential rains, causing water to surge through villages, sweeping away homes and people.
The recent monsoon season has wreaked havoc across Pakistan, causing widespread flooding and landslides that claimed over 300 lives nationwide.
A day earlier, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had warned of intensifying monsoon activity with more widespread rain, wind and thundershowers expected in several parts of the country from next week.
According to the forecast, Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), upper Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit Baltistan are likely to receive rain-wind/thundershowers with scattered heavy falls from August 14 to 17.
