Destruction due to stagnation of rainwater, causing a poor sewage syste,m creating problems for commuters and residents after floods flowed through the area on July 26, 2022, in Hyderabad, Pakistan | Credit: Asianet-Pakistan/Shutterstock
At least 194 people have died in the last 24 hours in heavy monsoon floods and landslides in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the BBC reported on Friday, August 15.
Most of the deaths, 180, were recorded by disaster authorities in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-west Pakistan. Some 30 homes were destroyed, and a rescue helicopter crashed during operations, killing the five-person crew. Nine more people died in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, while five died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, the BBC said. Government forecasters said heavy rainfall was expected until August 21 in the northwest of the country, where several areas were declared disaster zones.
In Buner, one survivor told AFP the floods arrived like “doomsday. I heard a loud noise as if the mountain was sliding. I rushed outside and saw the entire area shaking, like it was the end of the world,” said Azizullah. “The ground was trembling due to the force of the water, and it felt like death was staring me in the face.” Monsoon rains between June and September deliver about three-quarters of South Asia’s annual rainfall. Landslides and flooding are frequent, killing more than 300 people this year. Scientists say that climate change has made weather events more extreme and more frequent.
