PESHAWAR: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported on Friday that torrential rains and flash floods over the past 24 hours have claimed 229 lives and left 14 people injured across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to ARY News.
Among the dead are two women and eight children, while the injured include 11 men, two women, and a child. The PDMA added that 30 houses were damaged—25 partially and five completely destroyed.
Fatalities were recorded in Swat, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Mansehra, Shangla, and Battagram, with Bajaur and Battagram emerging as the hardest-hit areas.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to maintain close coordination with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and deploy all available resources for rescue and relief operations. Chairing a meeting on the ongoing weather and flood situation, the premier ordered urgent delivery of food, medicine, and other essential supplies to affected areas.
The NDMA chairman briefed the PM on the damage, while rescue missions continue with the combined efforts of PDMA teams, local authorities, and volunteers.
The PDMA has warned that heavy rain may persist intermittently until August 21, heightening the risk in already vulnerable districts.
Survivors have appealed for accelerated rescue operations and immediate provision of shelter for those displaced. In Mansehra, lightning and a cloudburst caused further flooding and casualties.
In Swat’s Mingora, Malam Jabba, Haji Baba, Khwazakhela, and Marghazar, low-lying areas are inundated, flooding hundreds of homes and cutting off several localities. Many residents, including women and children, are sheltering on rooftops, while others are evacuating on their own amid worsening conditions.
