MUZAFFARABAD/GILGIT/BAJAUR: At least 56 people, including women and children, were killed as heavy rains triggered flash floods and landslides in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), rescue officials said on Friday.According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in KP, at least 38 people were killed in the past 24 hours in mountainous areas following heavy rainfall, cloudbursts, and flash floods.
The highest number of casualties was reported in Bajaur, where 21 people lost their lives and eight others were injured. In Lower Dir, five people were killed and four injured, while seven deaths were reported from Battagram.Four people were also killed in Swat and Shangla districts, the PDMA added.
Meanwhile, in Gilgit Baltistan, at least 10 people were killed as a result of landslides and flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains.According to GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, three people, including a woman, were killed in Khalthi valley of district Ghizer, where more than half a dozen houses were buried under debris. Three others remain missing, with rescue teams conducting search operations, The News reported.
In Diamer’s Bonar area, a brother and sister were swept away by raging floodwaters, while a child was injured in a landslide on the Babusar road.
Flash floods also ravaged Ghizer’s Yasin Thoi, damaging houses, schools, water tanks and agricultural land. Landslides disrupted travel on the Baltistan and Sadpara roads, while Thor in Diamer reported severe destruction. The Astore valley wasn’t spared either. Floods also damaged agricultural land and roads in the area.Meanwhile, in Kohistan, floods damaged a bridge on the Karakoram Highway, disrupting traffic between GB and rest of the country.
The GB government has imposed emergency measures in several areas, directing the GB Disaster Management Authority (GBDMA) and Rescue 1122 to remain on high alert. Relief and search operations are under way despite challenging weather conditions. “This is a testing time for Gilgit-Baltistan,” said Faraq. “The government is mobilising all available resources to assist the affected communities.”
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