The National Disaster Management Authority reported that the death toll reached 194 people by Friday evening, noting that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region was the most affected, with the Buner district alone recording 100 deaths due to floods and rain.
In the Bajaur area, near the Afghan border, a helicopter carrying relief supplies crashed, resulting in the death of its five crew members. Over 2,000 people in the Swat region were evacuated to safer areas after river and stream levels rose.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held an emergency meeting to monitor the flood situation caused by recent rains. During the current rainy season, the country experienced more rain than usual, leading to the destruction of roads and buildings and the fall of hundreds of victims in recent weeks.
Meteorologists expect heavy rains to continue until August 21 in the northwest of the country, where several areas have been declared disaster zones. It is noted that the monsoon rains, which fall between June and September and account for about three-quarters of the annual rainfall in South Asia, cause landslides and destructive floods and have claimed more than 300 lives this season.
Scientists affirm that climate change has made weather phenomena more severe and frequent.
