At least 65 people have been killed by flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir since Sunday, the News International quoted officials as saying Monday.
The heavy rainfall in the regions started Saturday night, causing flash floods in the Khan Khwar river, killing several people and damaging crops, bridges, houses and roads.
As many as 46 people were killed and 34 others were injured in affected areas of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The worst-affected regions in the province were reportedly the mountain districts of Kohistan and Shangla.
Of the 46 people, 16 were killed in Shangla due to landslides, while another 12 people died in the Kohistan district of the province. Some were killed due to lightning.
"Twelve people are killed in rain-related incidents and we are struggling to reopen the Karakoram Highway owing to continues rains. The continuous rain and landslides are also affecting the relief and rescue activities in the district [sic]," Kohistan Deputy Commissioner Fazle Khaliq told the News.
The landslides blocked the Karakoram Highway, Mansehra Naran Jalkhad road and link roads in Siran, Konsh and Kaghan valleys. The News cited reports as saying heavy downpour had damaged seven bridges and 35 houses in the Matta, Bahrain, Kabal, Babuzai, Khwazakhela, Charbagh and Barikot tehsils in the Swat district.
Several people have moved to safer regions, while those stuck in flood-affected regions have been provided tents and other relief materials.
The Express Tribune quoted forecasters as saying heavy rains would continue to lash the affected regions, particularly Malakand and Hazara divisions. "People in Malakand and Hazara should remain alert as widespread rain is expected there," Mushtaq Shah, the director at the Pakistan Meteorological Department in Peshawar, said.
At least 170 people were killed last year in month-long flooding caused by monsoon rains across Pakistan. The showers affected about 1 million people and caused damage to thousands of acres of agricultural land, according to BBC.
