Entire villages have been destroyed and mass burials are underway as flash floods continue to devastate Pakistan, claiming at least 340 lives and leaving hundreds missing, according to AFP. Officials and locals described widespread destruction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the worst-hit province, where homes, shops, and vehicles were washed away.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s coordinator for KP affairs, Ikhtiar Wali Khan, warned that the true toll may be much higher. “Entire villages have been wiped out. In Buner's Chagharzi area, massive destruction has taken place, while the village of Bashoni has completely disappeared from the map,” he told ARY News. Fearing catastrophic losses, he added, “Mass burials are taking place. I have returned from Buner with a heavy heart after witnessing this disaster with my own eyes.”
Data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) shows that since June 26, torrential monsoon rains, flash floods, and landslides have killed at least 657 people—including 171 children and 94 women—and injured 929. Of these, KP alone has reported 390 fatalities.
Rescue operations are ongoing, but authorities admit survival chances are slim. In Buner district, more than 150 people remain unaccounted for, with “10 to 12 entire villages” partially buried, according to officials. “The chances of those buried under the debris surviving are very slim,” said Bilal Ahmad Faizi of KP’s rescue agency.
Witnesses described the devastation in chilling detail. “We saw all the houses, buildings, and vehicles being swept away like pieces of wood. When we looked down from the mountain, our home was gone,” said Suleman Khan, a schoolteacher who lost 25 relatives in Buner.
Officials compared the destruction to previous climate disasters in Pakistan. The government has declared several mountainous districts as disaster-hit, while warnings of more heavy rains in the coming days have heightened fears of worsening conditions.
[With TOI inputs]
Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s coordinator for KP affairs, Ikhtiar Wali Khan, warned that the true toll may be much higher. “Entire villages have been wiped out. In Buner's Chagharzi area, massive destruction has taken place, while the village of Bashoni has completely disappeared from the map,” he told ARY News. Fearing catastrophic losses, he added, “Mass burials are taking place. I have returned from Buner with a heavy heart after witnessing this disaster with my own eyes.”
WATCH: Flash floods and heavy rain swept through northwest Pakistan, killing nearly 200 people as well as five crew members of a rescue helicopter, all within 24 hours https://t.co/k33rYIy7xX pic.twitter.com/Yc6WExKTE0
— Reuters Asia (@ReutersAsia) August 16, 2025
Data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) shows that since June 26, torrential monsoon rains, flash floods, and landslides have killed at least 657 people—including 171 children and 94 women—and injured 929. Of these, KP alone has reported 390 fatalities.
Rescue operations are ongoing, but authorities admit survival chances are slim. In Buner district, more than 150 people remain unaccounted for, with “10 to 12 entire villages” partially buried, according to officials. “The chances of those buried under the debris surviving are very slim,” said Bilal Ahmad Faizi of KP’s rescue agency.
Witnesses described the devastation in chilling detail. “We saw all the houses, buildings, and vehicles being swept away like pieces of wood. When we looked down from the mountain, our home was gone,” said Suleman Khan, a schoolteacher who lost 25 relatives in Buner.
Officials compared the destruction to previous climate disasters in Pakistan. The government has declared several mountainous districts as disaster-hit, while warnings of more heavy rains in the coming days have heightened fears of worsening conditions.
[With TOI inputs]
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