Flash floods wash away neighborhoods in northern Pakistan, kill 35 people

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Rain-triggered flash floods continued to batter northern Pakistan on Wednesday, washing away neighborhoods, triggering landslides, and killing at least 35 people over the past 48 hours, officials and locals said.

Torrents of rainwater wreaked havoc on swaths of scenic Chitral district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where heavy precipitation and flash floods washed away houses, bridges and livestock on Wednesday, disconnecting dozens of suburban villages from the city.

Heavy rains also triggered landslides, sending torrents of mud, and tumbling boulders downhill, which blocked roads at different points.

"The situation is very serious," Israr Ahmad, a local told Anadolu on the phone.

“By the grace of God, human losses are not that big compared to the devastation caused by rains and flash floods," Ahmad said.

"However, infrastructural losses are huge," he maintained.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, 19 people have lost their lives and 15 others injured in different parts of the province in rain-related accidents over the past 48 hours.

Some 11 of a family drowned as rainwater submerged the basement of a house in Kohat district on Tuesday. Another eight lost their lives after being struck by lightning in the southern Thar desert on Tuesday.

Hundreds of tourists have been stuck for two days as a key bridge connecting famous tourist destinations Kaghan and Naran was cut off from the rest of the country as it was washed away by to the flash floods.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has predicted scattered rains and flooding across the country, including major cities of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, from Aug. 2 to 6.

The National Disaster Management Authority, a state-run body that coordinates between different relief and rescue agencies, has asked the authorities to stay alert and take necessary measures to avert human and infrastructural losses due to possible rains.

The monsoon season from July to August has long been causing devastation across the South Asian country. However, its intensity and unpredictability have increased in recent years, mainly because of climate change.