Peshawar, Pakistan (AP) – A struggled Pakistani searched remote locations for bodies Was wiped out by the weekend flash flood As the death toll reached 277 on Monday, one official responded to the lack of evacuation warnings saying people should build homes elsewhere.
Climate changes have made inhabitants of mountainous regions carved into rivers in northern Pakistan more vulnerable to sudden heavy rains.
Over 150 people He was still missing in Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa State after Friday’s flash flood.
Villagers say there was no warning broadcast from mosque speakers, a traditional way to warn of remote emergency situations. The government says the sudden torrential rains were so severe that a major flood was struck before residents were notified.
Emergency Services spokesman Mohammad Suhail said three bodies were found on Monday. The Army deployed engineers and heavy equipment to clean the tiled rubber.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandhapur said many deaths could have been avoided if residents did not build homes along the waterways. He said the government would encourage displaced people to move to safer areas. There they will help rebuild the home.
Pakistan has been suffering from higher than usual monsoon rain since June 26, when 400 deaths in the northwest killed at least 645 people nationwide. The National Disaster Management Agency issued warnings of further flooding after new rain began on Sunday in many parts of the country.
On Monday, heavy rains struck Daloli village in the northwest of Swabi district, causing flash floods that killed 15 people, government official Awais Babar said.
He said rescuers evacuated nearly 100 people, mostly women and children, who had been evacuated to the roof of the house. Disaster management officials said the floods have flooded the streets in the northwest and other districts of Kashmir, managed by Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting on Monday to reassessing the flood hit region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the flood efforts in Kashmir led by northern Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan.
According to a government statement, the meeting estimated flood-related damages to public and private property in excess of 126 million rupees ($450,000).
The UN Humanitarian Agency said it mobilized the group in Hard Hit areas where damaged roads and communication lines are blocking the community. The relief agency provided food, water and other assistance.
The floods also struck Kashmir, where at least 67 people have been killed and dozens remained missing after flash floods swept the area during last week’s Hindu pilgrimage.
In 2022, catastrophic floods related to climate change killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan, leaving hundreds of thousands of homeless people.
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Associated Press author Ishfaq Hussain, Rasool Dawar from Peshawar in Muzafarabad, Pakistan, Pakistan, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, contributed to the story.
