Pakistan forecasts more rains as deaths in northwest rise to 323 since Aug. 15

• The cumulative death toll from rain-related incidents in Pakistan has surged to 657 since late June
• Official says up to three more monsoon spells are expected in the country until the first weeks of Sept.

ISLAMABAD: The death toll from this week’s torrential rains and flooding in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has risen to 323 since Aug. 15, the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Sunday, as federal authorities forecast more rains over the next 24 hours.

The cumulative death toll from rain-related incidents in Pakistan has surged to 657 since late June, when the monsoon rains first began in the country, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Apart from KP, 164 fatalities have been reported in Punjab, 32 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 28 in Sindh, 20 in Balochistan, 15 in Azad Kashmir and eight in the federal capital of Islamabad.

Raging hill torrents flattened several homes and swept away dozens of people in KP’s Swat, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Mansehra, Shangla and Battagram districts on Friday. Officials said several bodies were found on Sunday in the worst-hit Buner district.

“So far, 323 people have died and 156 people have been injured in various accidents due to rains and flash floods in the province,” the KP PDMA said on Sunday night.

“The deceased include 273 men, 29 women and 21 children, while the injured include 123 men, 23 women and 10 children.”

The rains, cloudbursts and deluges have damaged a total of 336 houses since Aug. 15, according to the PDMA report. Of these, 106 were completely destroyed. A total of 209 people have been displaced in Buner district, the most affected by Friday’s cloudburst and subsequent floods.

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Sunday visited Buner, where he promised survivors compensation for their financial losses, urging residents of disaster-prone areas to relocate from there.

“The data of all the losses is being compiled,” CM Gandapur told reporters in Buner. “It is beyond our power to compensate the loss of lives, but we will compensate financial losses, damages to private property.”

Several people were still missing and search efforts were focused on areas where homes were flattened by water torrents that swept down from the mountains, carrying massive boulders that smashed into houses like explosions.

The NDMA has forecast more “heavy to very heavy rainfall” in parts of the country over the next 24 hours, particularly in Islamabad, KP, Punjab and Azad Kashmir, under the current weather system.

“Heavy to very heavy rainfall/thunderstorms are expected in Islamabad over the next 24 hours with occasional gaps. Most parts of Punjab will see widespread rainfall/thunderstorms. Districts in the Potohar and northeastern parts, including Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Narowal, Hafizabad, and Mandi Bahauddin, are expected to face heavy to very heavy rainfall, increasing the chances of urban flooding,” it said on Sunday evening.

“Northern and upper KP districts, including Swat, Buner, Shangla, Dir, Mansehra, Battagram, Abbottabad, and Malakand, are expected to witness heavy spells, with flash floods and landslides possible in hilly terrain over the next 24 hours. The Peshawar valley, covering Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, and Swabi, will see scattered thunderstorms.”

In Azad Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Bagh, Haveli, Kotli, Mirpur and Bhimber are expected to receive heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, which may trigger landslides and flash flooding, particularly in hilly areas, according to the authority.

Isolated rainfall is expected in Gilgit, Skardu, Hunza, Ghizer, Diamer, Astore, Ghanche, and Shigar. Rainfall may cause debris flows, landslides, or local flooding in valleys. The southern province of Sindh and Balochistan may receive light to moderate rainfall.

The monsoon season brings South Asia about three-quarters of its annual rainfall, vital for agriculture and food security, but also brings destruction.

“The intensity of this year’s monsoon is around 50 to 60 percent more than last year,” NDMA chief Lt. Gen. Inam Haider told journalists in Islamabad on Sunday.

“Two to three more monsoon spells are expected until the first weeks of September.”

Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change and is contending with extreme weather events with increasing frequency. Monsoon floods in 2022 submerged a third of the country and killed around 1,700 people.