Death toll in KP floods climbs to 323 as rescue operations continue

Rescue operations continued on Sunday after severe flash floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the toll rising to 323 people dead and 156 injured, with 217 deaths recorded in Buner alone.

The KP government declared an emergency on Saturday as torrential rains ravaged homes, displaced families, and left a trail of destruction across Buner, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, and beyond, with authorities warning that dozens of victims may still be trapped under debris.

On Sunday evening, the PDMA released an updated damage report outlining casualties and property damage from August 15 until 6:30pm.

“The dead include 273 men, 29 women and 21 children, while the injured include 123 men, 23 women and 10 children,” the PDMA stated.

The PDMA’s figures also show that 320 cattle heads were killed in the flooding, while 336 homes, 57 schools and 23 other structures were damaged or destroyed.

In Swat, 219 homes were affected, with 177 partially destroyed and 42 fully destroyed. Around 163 cattle heads also perished in the district, affecting people’s livelihoods.

“A total of 209 people have been displaced in Buner district, which was the most affected by the floods,” the PDMA report said. “These accidents occurred in different districts of the province, Swat, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Mansehra, Shangla and Battagram.”

The authority added that heavy rain was forecast from August 17-19, with ongoing rain expected to continue intermittently until August 21.

“The Emergency Operation Centre of PDMA is fully functional,” said the PDMA. “The public can contact the toll-free helpline 1700 for any untoward incident, weather condition updates and information.”

Earlier today, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered federal ministers to supervise relief operations in KP, due to the severe damage.

According to state-run Radio Pakistan, additional relief goods are being dispatched to the flood-affected areas on the directives of PM Shehbaz, who is personally monitoring the relief operations of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in all flood-affected districts of KP.

“Teams of federal ministers, on the instructions of the prime minister will participate in the relief operations in the flood-affected areas,” Radio Pakistan reported.

Federal Minister for Gilgit-Baltistan and Kashmir Affairs and States and Frontier Regions Amir Muqam will supervise the distribution of relief goods in the Shangla and Buner districts.

Minister for Power Division Awais Leghari will look after activities in Buner, and Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Yousaf will oversee operations in Mansehra. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Mubarak Zeb will supervise relief distribution activities in Bajaur.

“Additional trucks carrying relief goods are being sent to the affected districts under the Prime Minister’s Relief Package,” Radio Pakistan reported. “The relief goods include rations, tents, and medicines, which are being district administrations.”

PM Shehbaz directed the NDMA chairman to stay in constant contact with the disaster management authorities of the provinces and Gilgit-Baltistan for better and coordinated relief efforts.

The PDMA completed its delivery of aid and relief packages later today, having successfully sent 89 trucks to Buner, Bajaur, Swat and Shangla.

The relief supplies included 1,800 family tents, 1,000 winterisation tents, 3,100 mattresses, 3,500 pillows, 1,500 hygiene kits, 3,300 kitchen sets, 2,100 pieces of tarpaulin, 3,300 mats, 4,400 mosquito nets, 3,800 blankets, 1,000 jerry cans, 1,000 beds, 1,750 solar lamps, 10 de-watering pumps, 10 generators, 100 life jackets and 500 gas cylinders.

The goods were delivered “keeping in mind the basic needs of the victims”, a statement from the authority read. “These supplies will be helpful in the immediate housing, daily life and rehabilitation process of the people in the affected areas.”

The authority added that it released Rs800 million for the affected districts, with Rs500m of that sum released to Buner to compensate affected families.

“Clear instructions have been issued to the deputy commissioners to provide financial assistance to the affected families as soon as possible,” the statement added. “PDMA has also ensured that there is no hindrance during the relief operations.”

Meanwhile, focal persons were posted at the Provincial Emergency Operation Centre to ensure the timely exchange of information and effective coordination between institutions.

The PDMA director general was quoted as saying that the authority is ready at all times to provide aid.

Meanwhile, PTV News reported that under the orders of the army chief, the Pakistan Army has started distributing rations to people in areas affected by flooding.

“Despite [the] bad weather, Pakistan Army helicopters are engaged in rescue and relief operations in various areas of Buner, Shangla and Swat,” the broadcaster wrote in a post on X, adding that helicopters have delivered rations to the area of Khwar Banda.

The post added that the rations include flour, rice, pulses, milk powder, salt, tea leaves and cooking oil, further stating that Pakistan Army helicopters are also transporting injured people, women and children from remote areas to safe locations.

“Pakistan Army doctors have set up medical camps in the affected areas, where free medicines are being distributed,” PTV News added.

A video attached to the post shows personnel dropping sacks and boxes of rations from a helicopter.

Karakoram Highway reopened: GB government

Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq told Dawn.com that the Karakoram Highway, blocked four days ago due to floods in Kohistan, was restored and opened for all types of traffic today.

“The Karakoram Gilgit-Rawalpindi section has been opened,” he said. “With the restoration of the highway, vehicles, passengers and tourists stranded in Gilgit and Rawalpindi have left for their destinations.”

According to the spokesman, the Karakoram Gilgit-Hunza section of the Hassanabad Highway remains closed due to flood erosion and work to reopen the road is progressing rapidly.

Earlier in the day, the KP PDMA released an update on the death and injury toll across the province, as well as damage to infrastructure and loss of cattle.

Buner district alone has accounted for 209 deaths and 120 injuries, according to the report, with 36 dead and 21 injured in Shangla.

Mansehra recorded a total of 24 deaths and five injuries, with a similar toll of 21 deaths and five injuries in Bajaur.

According to the PDMA report, 16 men died in Swat while two were injured. Meanwhile, in Lower Dir, five people died due to thunder strikes and roof collapse, with three people injured. Thunder strikes also killed three people in Battagram.

A total of 159 houses have been damaged — 62 of them fully — while 57 schools across KP have also been partially damaged.

According to initial details from the Buner Deputy Commissioner’s Office, machinery has been deployed to the affected areas. “However, due to continuous heavy rainfall, it is currently impossible to reopen the causeway at Gadezai.”

District officials and rescue teams have already been dispatched to the affected locations in the Gokand and Pir Baba areas, per the report, which also noted that rescue teams have recovered the dead bodies at Daggar Village.

In Swat, two women and several school students were safely rescued by local authorities.

“The situation remains critical in certain areas, and necessary response and relief operations are underway,” the PDMA report quoted a statement from the additional deputy commissioner’s office.

KP Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Ahmed Faizi told AFP that the operation to rescue people trapped under debris is ongoing.

“There is still concern that dozens of people may be trapped under the rubble… the chances of those buried under the debris surviving are very slim,” Faizi said.

He added that around 2,000 rescue workers were engaged in recovering bodies from the debris and carrying out relief operations across nine districts, where rain was still hampering efforts.

AFP journalists in Buner saw half-buried vehicles and belongings lying strewn in the sludge, with mud covering houses and shops. Flooded roads hampered the movement of rescue vehicles, as a few villagers worked to cut fallen trees to clear the way after the water receded.

Meanwhile, KP PDMA Director General Asfandyar Khattak told AFP that those missing in Buner “could be trapped under the rubble of their homes or swept away by floodwaters”.

He noted that in Shangla, dozens of people are also reported missing.

“There is no electricity or mobile signal in Buner, as power lines and mobile towers were damaged,” he added.

KP CM says govt will relocate people from flood-prone areas

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has said that the government will relocate people who are in flood-prone areas and also provide them with houses.

Addressing the media in Swat, he said, “We will provide them (flood victims) with houses, but will request them to move to safer areas and will establish new settlements as well.”

Speaking about encroachments along rivers, the KP CM said: “We will not tolerate encroachments. The most thorough operation was done against them in Dera Ismail Khan, and I call on other parties and parliamentarians to also work towards that.”

“I would make the claim that the manner in which this rescue operation was done in such a quick manner, there is no parallel in history,” Gandapur added while responding to a question.

He said that the rescue phase of the operation is over, and now the authorities will be moving onto restoration and then compensation, reiterating that the government will compensate all the personal losses of the people.

He also spoke about the introduction of new technology to prevent damage due to flooding, because of cloud bursts and landslides.

Over 850 rescued across Buner

More than 850 people have been rescued and shifted to safer places while 181 bodies have been recovered in Buner’s districts of Gaddizi, Bishoni, Malikpur, Balokhan and other nearby areas which were worst affected, according to an update from Buner Rescue 1122 issued today.

“Dozens of houses in different districts have been reduced to rubble; agricultural lands and infrastructure have been severely damaged, while reports of loss of life are also alarming,” the update said.

In Daggar, the capital of Buner, 30 people died in Gokand, Kot and other districts, while 202 people, including women and children, were shifted to safer places.

A total of 41 bodies were recovered from Chagharzai while 35 people were rescued in injured condition and taken to the Rural Health Centre Hospital Gulbandi.

Three bodies were also recovered from the Salmani area of Mandanr and shifted to the district headquarters hospital.

“Buner Rescue 1122 personnel are continuously engaged in search and rescue operations day and night in the affected areas,” the statement said.

“Rescue personnel and emergency vehicles from Swabi have also joined the operation, while special rescue teams from Peshawar are also participating in relief activities in the affected areas.”

Rescue teams and district officials are continuously present in the field and on high alert to provide timely assistance to the affected people, it added.

Flooding caused by climate change: Sherry Rehman

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman wrote in a post on X that the flooding in KP, GB and AJK was “obviously triggered by global climate change”.

The senator, who previously served as a climate change minister, noted that climate change was being fuelled by rising emissions and “local institutional indifference to building real resilience for communities and society”.

“The mega monsoon of 2025 has already claimed over 300 lives — most in KP — triggering landslides that wiped out villages, hampering rescue efforts with helicopter crashes … mass displacements,” Rehman wrote.

The senator wrote that forests act as a shield against excess flooding, reducing bare-ground heating and “blunting climate shock and slowing water cascades”.

“Deforestation in Pakistan is driven by illegal logging, wildfires, and the conversion of forest land for agriculture, commercial development, and mushrooming housing schemes,” she wrote. “Pakistan has the highest deforestation rate in South Asia and only retains five per cent forest cover.

“In the last 33 years, Pakistan’s forest cover has alarmingly shrunk by 18pc, falling from 3.78 million hectares in 1992 to a mere 3.09 million hectares in 2025,” Rehman added.

“This devastating loss is most acute in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s districts like Swat, Chitral, Dir, Kohistan, and Shangla, where the illegal timber mafia relentlessly exploits ancient pine and deodar forests despite government bans imposed since 2002 and 2017.”

The senator added that locals reported the destruction of 30 to 40pc of Swat’s forests, with the potential for losses of up to 70pc if deforestation continues unchecked.

Punjab PDMA orders restriction of tourists to Murree

The Punjab PDMA has ordered that tourists be restricted from travelling to Murree and other “disaster-vulnerable areas in view of the ongoing surge in monsoon activities, particularly in mountainous regions.”

A letter in this regard was sent from the Punjab Board of Revenue to the secretary to the Government of Punjab, Tourism Department, the Rawalpindi Division Commissioner and the Murree Deputy Commissioner.

The government authority asked to restrict tourist entry to vulnerable and hazard-prone sites until the current monsoon spell subsides, as well as to coordinate with law enforcement agencies for restrictions under Section 144, wherever required.

The authority also asked to ensure wide public awareness through electronic, print and social media regarding safety advisories.

Meanwhile, the Lower Dir district administration, on the orders of the KP government, distributed compensation cheques to the heirs of the five people who died in a roof collapse incident due to rain in Maidan area’s Suri Pao village.

The monsoon season brings South Asia about three-quarters of its annual rainfall, vital for agriculture and food security, but also brings destruction.

“The intensity of this year’s monsoon is around 50 to 60pc more than last year,” said Lieutenant General Inam Haider, chairman of the NDMA.

“Two to three more monsoon spells are expected until the first weeks of September,” he told journalists in Islamabad.

Landslides and flash floods are common during the season, which usually begins in June and eases by the end of September. The torrential rains that have pounded Pakistan since the start of the summer monsoon have killed 657 people, with 929 injured, according to daily data from the NDMA.

Pakistan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change and is contending with extreme weather events with increasing frequency.