Greater than 200 individuals stay lacking in a single district of north-west Pakistan on account of devastating monsoon flooding and landslides, an official has stated.
Flash floods have killed greater than 300 individuals in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir in latest days, with a lot of the deaths recorded within the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
An area official within the worst-affected Buner district advised the BBC that at the very least 209 individuals have been nonetheless lacking there, however it’s feared that quantity may rise.
Rescue groups have buried eight unidentified our bodies as there have been no members of the family discovered alive to say them, stated Jehangir Khan, spokesman for the deputy commissioner’s workplace of Buner.
Some family members are additionally unable to say their family members’ our bodies as roads are severely broken, he added.
A provincial rescue spokesman advised information company AFP that “10 to 12 whole villages” have been partially buried.
Asfandyar Khattak, head of the provincial catastrophe administration authority, stated “dozens” of individuals have been lacking in Shangla district.
Monsoon rains between June and September ship about three-quarters of South Asia’s annual rainfall.
Whereas landslides and flash floods are frequent because of this, scientists say that local weather change is making these climate occasions extra intense and extra frequent.
Torrential rain has additionally hit Indian-administered Kashmir, days after at least 60 people were killed there by flash floods.
9 have been killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir this week, whereas one other 5 died within the northern Gilgit-Baltistan area, authorities stated.
Authorities forecasters say heavy rainfall is anticipated till 21 August within the north-west, the place a number of areas have been declared catastrophe zones.
Pakistan has been reckoning with the devastation of this yr’s monsoon season since June. A minimum of 650 individuals have been killed to this point this yr.
In July, Punjab, residence to just about half of Pakistan’s 255 million individuals, recorded 73% extra rainfall than the prior yr and extra deaths than in the whole earlier monsoon season.
Northern Pakistan can also be probably the most glaciated areas within the area, however these are quickly thinning and retreating due to local weather change – that means rocks, soil, and different particles will be dislodged.
Monsoon rains can additional destabilise mountain faces, exacerbating landslides that generally block rivers.
Whereas the precise reason for the latest floods and landslides are but to be decided, glaciologists say that ice soften is a contributing issue.
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