Flash floods in KP, Balochistan, Gilgit claim a dozen lives

Heavy rainfall across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday has resulted in at least 12 deaths and 21 injuries over the past 24 hours.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa confirmed the 12 fatalities. According to PDMA, six people died in Karak district, and one each in Lower Dir, Charsadda, and South Waziristan districts. In Karak’s Lawaghar Algada area, four individuals were swept away by floods.

In Tank district, a woman and her two children were killed, and four other family members were injured when their roof collapsed. The deceased have been identified as Asma Bibi, her daughter Sadia Bibi, and her son Waheed Ullah.

Tank-South Waziristan road is closed due to flood conditions in local streams and nullahs. In Mansehra district, thousands of tourists and locals stranded in Kaghan and Manor valleys for six days could leave on foot after the Frontier Works Organisation constructed a temporary pavement on the Manor stream in Mahandri. Flash floods caused significant damage in the Kaghan and Manor valleys, including the destruction of the central bridge on the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad road. A woman and her son and approximately two dozen hotels, houses, and electric turbines were washed away in the floods.

The district administration has advised tourists to avoid Kaghan Valley until conditions improve. An artificial lake formed at Mahandri due to large boulders blocking the Kunhar River flow is causing concerns, and authorities are debating whether to burst it or create spillways.

In Mohmand district, a bridge on the Aqrab Daag to Shaheed Banda Daman link road near Babi Mohmand has been damaged. This has disrupted traffic between Aqrab Daag and Ekkaghund Bazaar, and authorities have closed the bridge.

In Balochistan, the National Disaster Management Authority has warned of high to very high levels of flash flooding in several regions, including the Zhob, Kalat, Nasirabad, and Sibbi divisions and local nullahs in D.G. Khan. These floods could damage infrastructure and impact communities near these waterways.
Northern regions, including the catchment areas of the Kabul River and its tributaries, have received substantial rainfall, potentially causing high flooding in Nowshera and its tributaries. Authorities have been instructed to prepare for the effects of these extreme weather conditions.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, flooding from the Rahimabad nullah has damaged cultivated land, uprooted trees, and destroyed water supply channels downstream. The floodwaters have crossed the Rahimabad bridge on the KKH, though the bridge remains intact. The flood also blocked the Hunza river flow at Rahimabad village, causing land erosion in the Jutal, Nomal, and Faizanad areas. Additionally, flooding from the Jaglote Guru nullah has damaged a hotel and other properties, and the Babusar-Chilas Road at Diamer has been blocked and damaged. The Mushkay area has also significantly damaged land, private properties, and water supply channels.