Five crew members die as helicopter on a rescue mission crashes PM Shehbaz gets briefing on damage caused by cloudbursts, flash floods Directs NDMA to expedite rescue and relief efforts in KP Stranded individuals, tourists must be promptly relocated to safe locations: PM Survivor in Buner says floods arrived like doomsday.
ISLAMABAD/ GILGIT/PESHAWAR - More than 200 people were killed in heavy monsoon floods and landslides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Azad Jammu and Kashmir during the last 24 hours, officials said late Friday.
A helicopter on a rescue mission in the flood-hit province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa crashed due to the bad weather, killing the five crew members. Most of the deaths, at least 180, were reported by disaster management authorities in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
More than 160 people have been killed during heavy rain and flooding in northwestern Pakistan over the last 24 hours, officials say. Dozens of homes were destroyed in the mountainous region. Nine more people were killed in Kashmir while five died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Cloud bursts, flash floods, lightning strikes and building collapses amid heavy rain caused fatalities in the hills and mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the officials said.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) put the death toll at 194 late on Friday. The authorities said heavy rainfall is expected until 21 August in the northwest of the country, where several areas have been declared disaster zones.
In Buner, one survivor told reporters that 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.”
The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gadapur, said that the M-17 helicopter crashed due to bad weather while flying to Bajaur, a region bordering Afghanistan.
In Bajaur, a crowd amassed around an excavator trawling a mud-soaked hill. Funeral prayers began in a paddock nearby, with people grieving in front of several bodies covered by blankets.
Monsoon rains between June and September deliver about three-quarters of South Asia’s annual rainfall. Landslides and flooding are common and than 300 people have died in this year’s season.
In July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan’s 255 million people, recorded 73% more rainfall than the previous year and more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon.
Scientists say that climate change has made weather events more extreme and more frequent. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the National Disaster Management Authority to ensure immediate delivery of tents, medicines, food supplies, and other essential relief items to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Chairing an emergency meeting in Islamabad on Friday to assess the flood situation caused by recent heavy rains across the country, he instructed to dispatch the relief goods urgently via trucks on a priority basis.
NDMA Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik briefed the Prime Minister on the damage caused by cloudbursts and flash floods in the northern regions, as well as ongoing rescue and relief operations.
The Prime Minister directed NDMA to continue close coordination with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, and to extend full support in rescue and relief efforts by mobilizing all available resources.
He instructed the NDMA Chairman to further strengthen communication with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government to ensure effective rescue and relief operations.
The Prime Minister also advised that stranded individuals and tourists in flood-affected areas be promptly relocated to safe locations.
The Prime Minister was briefed on the extent of damage and the progress of ongoing rescue and relief efforts.
Besides, Shehbaz Sharif held telephone conversations with Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi and Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives due to cloudbursts and flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Prime Minister instructed NDMA to provide all necessary assistance to the provincial government in its rescue and relief operations.
He assured the Chief Minister that the federal government would extend full support to the provincial administration. The Prime Minister said the federal government is dispatching medicines, tents, and food supplies to the affected areas. He said in this hour of hardship, our heartfelt sympathies are with the affected people.
The meteorological office warned that heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs/streams of Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pothohar region andNorth-East Punjab. Landslides/mudslidesmay cause road closures in the vulnerable hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat and Kashmir during the forecast period, NDMAand meteorological office warned, mentioning seventh spell of monsoon rains. Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) alert for Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) has already been issued in the area.
In order to tackle the current situation in the worst-hit areas, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Pakistan Army, district administration, Rescue 1122, and local volunteers are conducting continuous rescue and relief operations. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is monitoring all activities around the clock. Authorities have urged the public to remain vigilant during the ongoing rains and flooding, and to strictly follow all safety precautions to prevent further loss of life.
According to Gilgit Baltistan Disaster Management (GBDM) In Ghizer district, flash flood hits Khalti Village 6 people including children and women were lost their lives. The death bodies of 4 people have been recoverd while the search continues for remaining two.
Two people lost their lives in Yasin village of district Ghizer.
Duty Commissioner Ghizar Habib Ur Rehman visited the flood effected areas and told The Nation that 21 houses, one musque and school destroyed by flush flood while many connecting brushes washed out the flush flood.
He said as a precaution, resident of low lying area have been shifted to safer location.
According to spokesman of GB government Faizullah Faraq share a press note that 2 people (sister and brother lost their lives when flush flood hits in Bunner Dass.
He said that Gilgit Baltistan is cut off as flood block Karakrum Highway, flush flood hits in different locations of KKH & Babusar.
According to Water and Power official flood hits in Nalter village of district Gilgit,3 power houses off. Gilgit city has been facing a power blackout since 4pm of Friday.
While Gilgit Baltistan experienced a complete internet and cellular network outage disruption reported across GB was caused by damaged to the regional fiber optics infrastructure due to ongoing flush flood and landsliding.
11 bodies recovered after cloudburst in Battagram, search for 10 missing persons continues: Ishtiaq Ahmed BATTAGRAM, Aug 15 (APP):Deputy Commissioner Battagram has confirmed that 11 bodies have been recovered out of 21 people who were swept away in a sudden flood triggered by a cloudburst in Battagram District. The search for the remaining 10 missing persons is still underway.
Deputy Commissioner Battagram, Ishtiaq Ahmed said he is personally present at the disaster site in Dheri Haleem a border area between Mansehra and Battagram districts to supervise the rescue operation. He confirmed that personnel from Rescue 1122 and other relevant departments are actively taking part in the operation.
According to the DC, the victims were swept away from Dheri Haleem in Mansehra, and their bodies were later found in Battagram’s Shamlai area via the Nandhyar stream. Among the deceased are two residents of Battagram who had been staying as guests in Dheri Haleem.
