At least 117 people have died in monsoon rains in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, disaster authorities told AFP on Friday.
The majority of the deaths — 110 — were recorded in mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
Seven more people were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, regional disaster management authorities was quoted as saying.
“So far, across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, more than 110 people have died due to cloudbursts, flash floods and roof collapses,” PDMA spokesperson Anwar Shehzad told AFP, adding that another 60 people have been injured. Buner, Bajaur, Mansehra and Battagram have been declared disaster-hit districts.
In Bajaur, a tribal district abutting Afghanistan, AFP photos showed a crowd gathered around an excavator digging through a mud-soaked hill. Funeral prayers began nearby, with people grieving in front of several bodies covered by blankets.
The meteorological department has issued a heavy rain alert for the northwest, urging people to avoid “unnecessary exposure to vulnerable areas.”
In Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar, rescuers pulled bodies from mud and rubble on Friday after a flood crashed through a Himalayan village, killing at least 60 people and washing away dozens more.
The monsoon season, which usually begins in June and eases by late September, brings South Asia about three-quarters of its annual rainfall. While vital for agriculture and food security, it also triggers landslides and flash floods.
Scientists warn that climate change is making weather events worldwide more extreme and frequent. Pakistan, one of the most vulnerable countries to its effects, is experiencing such disasters with increasing regularity.
Torrential rains since the start of the summer monsoon — described as “unusual” by authorities — have killed more than 320 people, nearly half of them children. Most deaths were caused by collapsing houses, flash floods and electrocutions.
In July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan’s 255 million people, recorded 73% more rainfall than last year and more fatalities than during the entire previous monsoon. In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people.
