Rescue teams in Pakistan are searching for survivors amid torrential rains and landslides that triggered sudden flooding, leaving at least 340 people dead within just 48 hours. Another 40 remain missing in the country’s northwest.
People in the region say they fear returning to their homes, as new rain warnings have been issued. Since late June, when the monsoon season began, more than 660 people have been killed nationwide.
During the peak of the floods, many residents took shelter with relatives or in temporary camps set up by local authorities on higher ground. Others climbed to rooftops or hillsides as canals, already swollen from earlier downpours, burst their banks once again.
Monsoons are strong seasonal winds (winter and summer) that occur mainly in Southeast Asia, as well as in other parts of the world.
People in the region say they fear returning to their homes, as new rain warnings have been issued. Since late June, when the monsoon season began, more than 660 people have been killed nationwide.
“Everyone is terrified. The children can’t sleep,” a resident in Buner told Reuters, describing how he and 15 others huddled on a rooftop to escape rising waters.
In Buner’s central markets, homes and shops were buried under layers of mud up to 1.5 meters deep, as residents struggled to clear the debris with shovels. Cars and household items lay scattered among the ruins of collapsed buildings, a grim reminder of the disaster’s force.
