Pakistan flash floods claim over 250 lives

Geo News:
Rescuers search for victims at the site of a flashflood in Salarzai Tehsil of Pakistan’s Bajaur district on August 15, 2025. – AFP Photo
More than 250 people — at least 213 of them in Buner alone — have lost their lives, with dozens more injured, as cloudbursts and relentless downpours triggered flash floods and landslides across northern Pakistan, provincial and rescue officials said on Friday.
Over 200 deaths have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 12 in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and 19 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), with the toll expected to rise as the situation remains volatile.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that 28 people have been injured nationwide, while 116 houses have been damaged — 34 partially and 14 fully in KP, 14 partially and three fully in GB, and 23 partially and 28 fully in AJK.
Apart from several homes being swept away in the devastation, communications in multiple areas have been cut off. Officials reported that mobile phone towers were damaged, leaving flood-hit regions isolated.
A KP government helicopter carrying relief supplies to Bajaur’s Salarzai area crashed in bad weather over Mohmand district, killing all five on board, said Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s spokesperson, Faraz Mughal.
Another helicopter is conducting rescue operations in Buner.
DNA samples of the victims have been sent to Lahore for testing, with results expected in 24 hours. Funeral prayers will be held today.
KP CM Gandapur directed that emergency teams be dispatched immediately to affected areas. He announced that a day of mourning will be observed tomorrow.
“The national flag will fly at half-mast across the province, and the martyrs will be laid to rest with full state honours,” the statement from his office said.
In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed the NDMA to conduct comprehensive relief operations in flood-affected areas of AJK and KP.
Electricity supply in Swat has been crippled after floodwaters entered the 132KV grid station, suspending power on 41 feeders, according to the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO).
Sixteen poles supplying Malam Jabba were washed away, while numerous other poles and transformers were damaged across the district.
Fallen trees on transmission lines have worsened outages. PESCO has deployed extra staff on an emergency basis and set up a control room to monitor the situation.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, whose party governs KP, warned that the death toll could rise in Buner. “Entire villages have been wiped out, roads are gone, and infrastructure is destroyed,” he said.
A state of emergency has been declared in Buner, with hospitals on high alert. “Our focus is on search and rescue operations, but helicopters will be essential to reach several locations,” he added, stressing that “this is not a time for politics.”