Rescuers in northwest Pakistan stepped up their relief efforts on Sunday after flash floods in one area killed more than 220 people, officials said.
Heavy rains and torrential monsoon downpours lashed the mountainous Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, causing flash floods and landslides.
Mohammad Sohail, a spokesman for emergency services in Buner, said more than half of the damaged roads in the region had been repaired, allowing vehicles and heavy equipment to reach remote villages.
Rescue teams continue to clear debris and mud left by the flooding, using heavy equipment to clear away the rubble of destroyed homes on Sunday after families reported missing loved ones.
In one of the most tragic incidents, 24 people from one family died in the village of Kadar Nagar when a flood inundated their home on the eve of a wedding.
The head of the family, Umar Khan, said he had escaped the floods because he was outside his home. He added that four of his relatives were still missing.
The provincial chief minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, visited Buner on Saturday and announced that the families of the victims would receive compensation of two million rupees (£5,300) each.
He said tents, food and clean drinking water would be provided to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.
The government's official statement said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was monitoring the progress of humanitarian operations and had ordered the speeding up of aid distribution, evacuation of people in difficult situations and intensification of the search for missing persons.
Pakistan's Disaster Management Authority has warned of the possibility of further flooding and landslides from August 17 to 19, urging local authorities to be vigilant.
Since June 26, the country has been experiencing heavy monsoon rains, which have already claimed the lives of more than 600 people.
Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate-related disasters. In 2022, record monsoon rains killed nearly 1,700 people and destroyed millions of homes.
During the monsoon season, which lasts from June to September, the country also regularly experiences flash floods and landslides, especially in the inaccessible northwest, where villages are often located on steep slopes and along rivers.
Experts say climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
