Rescue operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued for a third day after flash floods left 314 people dead and 156 injured, along with severe damage to infrastructure, the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) said in a report on Sunday.
The KP government declared an emergency on Saturday as torrential rains ravaged homes, displaced families, and left a trail of destruction across Buner, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, and beyond, with authorities warning that dozens of victims may still be trapped under debris.
Buner district alone has accounted for 209 deaths and 120 injuries, according to the report, with 36 dead and 21 injured in Shangla.
Mansehra recorded a total of 24 deaths and five injuries, with a similar toll of 21 deaths and five injuries in Bajaur.
According to the PDMA report, 16 men died in Swat while two were injured. Meanwhile in Lower Dir, five people died due to thunder strikes and roof collapse, with three people injured. Thunder strikes also killed three people in Battagram.
A total of 159 houses have been damaged — 62 of them fully — while 57 schools across KP have also been partially damaged.
According to initial details from the Buner Deputy Commissioner’s Office, machinery has been deployed to the affected areas. “However, due to continuous heavy rainfall, it is currently impossible to reopen the causeway at Gadezai.”
District officials and rescue teams have already been dispatched to the affected locations in the Gokand and Pir Baba areas, per the report, which also noted that rescue teams have recovered the dead bodies at Daggar Village.
In Swat, two women and several school students were safely rescued by local authorities.
“The situation remains critical in certain areas, and necessary response and relief operations are underway,” the PDMA report quoted a statement from the additional deputy commissioner’s office.
KP Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi told AFP that the operation to rescue people trapped under debris is ongoing.
“There is still concern that dozens of people may be trapped under the rubble… the chances of those buried under the debris surviving are very slim,” Faizi said.
He added that around 2,000 rescue workers were engaged in recovering bodies from the debris and carrying out relief operations across nine districts, where rain was still hampering efforts.
AFP journalists in Buner saw half-buried vehicles and belongings lying strewn in the sludge, with mud covering houses and shops. Flooded roads hampered the movement of rescue vehicles, as a few villagers worked to cut fallen trees to clear the way after the water receded.
More to follow