The monsoon is wreaking havoc in Pakistan. Torrential and sudden rains made Thursday and Friday more than 200 dead in one day in the north of the country, bringing almost 500 the number of killed since the start of the monsoon in late June.
In recent 24 hours, the deadliest torrential rains have taken place in various districts in the mountain province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, border of Afghanistan, which alone deplored 110 deaths. The provincial disaster management authority thus lists 53 deaths in the Buner district alone, 18 in that of Bajaur or 15 in that of Battagram, all declared “disaster” and where “rescue teams have been deployed in reinforcement”.
House collapses, landslides
“In the district of Buner, a dozen villages were severely affected by the spouts,” adds the authority, which has several dozen houses and several damaged public schools and buildings. Seven other people died in Pakistani cashmere, while in cashmere administered by India, at least 60 victims were identified in a Himalayan village.
The torrential rains hit Pakistan since the start of a summer monsoon qualified as “unusual” by the authorities have left nearly 500 dead, including a hundred children. The victims were “killed in the collapse of their house” or “when their vehicles were taken in landslides,” said a spokesperson.
Death of several rescuers
While going to areas disaster -signed by mudslides, a helicopter crashed, announced the head of the provincial government. “The five crew members, including two pilots died,” said Ali Amin Gandapur, Minister-En-Chief of the mountainous province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, border of Afghanistan, who alone deplores 150 deaths due to the rains.
The country, the most populous fifth in the world, is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Its 255 million inhabitants have already undergone massive and deadly floods in recent years, explosions of glacial lakes and unpublished droughts, so many phenomena that will multiply under the influence of climate change, warn scientists. The authorities warn that the rains will further intensify by the end of the summer monsoon, mid-September.