ISLAMABAD, AUG 17: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday ordered federal ministers to supervise relief operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after flash floods left 314 people dead and 156 injured, along with severe damage to infrastructure.
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.
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 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 districts Shangla and Buner.
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 ration, 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.
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.
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.
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.
