Pakistan defends flood response after over 270 folks killed : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3840x2560+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0c%2Fda%2Fe511d61f484e9a56df0f7b41ed49%2Fap25229369677939.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3840x2560+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0c%2Fda%2Fe511d61f484e9a56df0f7b41ed49%2Fap25229369677939.jpg" class="img" alt="Boys collect wood and other useful items through the rubble of their damaged home following Friday's flash flooding at a neighborhood of Pir Baba, an area of Buner district, in Pakistan's northwest, on Aug. 17, 2025." fetchpriority="high"/> Boys acquire wooden and different helpful objects by means of the rubble of their broken residence following Friday's flash flooding at a neighborhood of Pir Baba, an space of Buner district, in Pakistan's northwest, on Aug. 17, 2025. Muhammad Sajjad/AP cover caption

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Muhammad Sajjad/AP BUNER, Pakistan — Rescuers recovered dozens extra our bodies from the rubble of collapsed properties in a northwestern district of Pakistan, bringing the demise toll to at the very least 274, as authorities defended their response to the flooding and stated they didn't want any international assist at this level.

Heavy rains and flooding additionally killed dozens of individuals in neighboring Kashmir.

Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for Pakistan's emergency service, stated 54 our bodies had been present in Buner, a mountainous space in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the place torrential rains and cloudbursts triggered huge flooding on Friday.

Suhail stated villagers stay lacking, and search efforts are targeted on areas the place properties had been flattened by torrents of water that swept down from the mountains, carrying boulders that smashed into homes like explosions.

Authorities have warned of extra deluges and potential landslides between now and Tuesday, urging native administrations to stay on alert. Larger-than-normal monsoon rains have lashed the nation since June 26 and killed greater than 600.

In India-administered Kashmir, situated throughout Pakistan's northeastern border, rains triggered extra flash floods in two villages within the Kathua district, killing seven folks, officers stated Sunday. Rescuers in Chositi village are nonetheless searching for dozens of lacking folks after the world was hit by flash floods final week throughout an annual Hindu pilgrimage. No less than 60 folks had been killed, and a few 150 injured. Over 300 others had been rescued.

Warnings of extra intense rain to come back Residents in Buner have accused officers of failing to warn them to evacuate after torrential rain and cloudbursts triggered lethal flooding and landslides. There was no warning broadcast from mosque loudspeakers, a standard methodology in distant areas.

The federal government stated that whereas an early warning system was in place, the sudden downpour in Buner was so intense that the deluge struck earlier than residents could possibly be alerted.

Lt. Gen. Inam Haider, chairman of the Nationwide Catastrophe Administration Authority, instructed a swiftly convened information convention in Islamabad that Pakistan was experiencing shifting climate patterns due to local weather change. For the reason that monsoon season started in June, Pakistan has already acquired 50% extra rainfall than in the identical interval final 12 months, he added.

He warned that extra intense climate might observe, with heavy rains forecast to proceed this month.

Some international locations have reached out to Islamabad providing assist, however Haider stated Pakistan has enough assets and doesn't require international help presently.

Asfandyar Khan Khattak, director-general of the Provincial Catastrophe Administration Authority, stated there was "no forecasting system wherever on the planet" that might predict the precise time and site of a cloudburst, a sudden and intense downpour.

Mohammad Iqbal, a schoolteacher in Pir Baba village, stated the shortage of a well timed warning system brought on casualties and compelled many to flee their properties on the final second.

"Survivors escaped with nothing," he stated. "If folks had been knowledgeable earlier, lives might have been saved and residents might have moved to safer locations."

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3387x2258+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5d%2Fc9%2F0ed731b0471bbc3b8a63018b1505%2Fap25229369537186.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/3387x2258+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F5d%2Fc9%2F0ed731b0471bbc3b8a63018b1505%2Fap25229369537186.jpg" class="img" alt="A villager Mateen Khan, left, and his family members sit over the rubble of their damaged home following Friday's flash flooding at a neighborhood of Pir Baba, an area of Buner district, in Pakistan's northwest on Aug. 17, 2025." loading="lazy"/> A villager Mateen Khan, left, and his members of the family sit over the rubble of their broken residence following Friday's flash flooding at a neighborhood of Pir Baba, an space of Buner district, in Pakistan's northwest on Aug. 17, 2025. Muhammad Sajjad/AP cover caption

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Muhammad Sajjad/AP Folks nonetheless lacking Idrees Mahsud, a catastrophe administration official, stated Pakistan's early warning system used satellite tv for pc imagery and meteorological information to ship alerts to native authorities. These had been shared by means of the media and neighborhood leaders. He stated monsoon rains that after solely swelled rivers now additionally triggered city flooding.

An emergency companies spokesman in Buner, Mohammad Sohail, stated greater than half the broken roads within the district had reopened by Sunday, permitting autos and heavy equipment to succeed in cut-off villages.

Crews had been clearing piles of rocks and dust dumped by the floods. They had been nonetheless utilizing heavy equipment to take away the rubble of collapsed properties after households reported that a few of their family members had been lacking.

In one of many deadliest incidents, 24 folks from one household died within the village of Qadar Nagar when floodwaters swept by means of their residence on the eve of a marriage. The top of the household, Umar Khan, stated he survived the floods as a result of he was out of the home on the time. 4 of his family members have but to be discovered.

Excessive climate Pakistan is very susceptible to climate-induced disasters. In 2022, a record-breaking monsoon killed almost 1,700 folks and destroyed tens of millions of properties.

The nation additionally suffers common flash floods and landslides throughout the monsoon season, which runs from June to September, notably within the rugged northwest, the place villages are sometimes perched on steep slopes and riverbanks.

Specialists say local weather change is intensifying the frequency and severity of such excessive climate occasions in South Asia.

Khalid Khan, a climate knowledgeable, stated Pakistan produces lower than 1% of planet-warming emissions however faces heatwaves, heavy rains, glacial outburst floods and now cloudbursts, underscoring how local weather change is devastating communities inside hours.