20 bodies found in Pakistan mountain village after cloudburst flooding

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Rescue workers on Aug 19 recovered more bodies from a mountain village in north-west Pakistan where flash floods triggered by a cloudburst brought down homes and buildings, taking the death toll to at least 20, the local district commissioner said.

The toll contributed to

a total of 358 deaths

in the floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since Aug 15 – more than 200 of them in the worst-hit district of Buner.

The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said 30 children were among the dead.  

A cloudburst is a rare phenomenon where more than 100mm of rain falls within an hour in a small area. The authorities have warned of more rain to come in two spells of monsoon until Sept 10. 

In Buner, there was more than 150mm of rain within an hour on the morning of Aug 15. 

A massive downpour from another cloudburst struck near Gadoon in the mountains of Swabi district, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Aug 18.

District Commissioner Nisar Khan said that along with the death toll there rising from 11 on Aug 18, several residents remained missing from the remote village.

“We are utilising all available resources, including heavy machinery such as excavators, to recover the missing bodies,” he said. 

The raging torrent came down from the mountains and swept away the houses, he added.  

The intense rain has

claimed lives and spread destruction

in several north-western districts, with most people killed in flash floods, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. 

More relief equipment, including tents, blankets, electric generators, pumps, medicine and rations, have been sent to the flood-affected areas, the authority said on Aug 19. 

It added that the torrential downpours and flooding this monsoon season have killed 695 people across Pakistan since late June. REUTERS