Pakistan's monsoon rains: 117 dead in 24 hours; toll climbs to 320 since 'unusual' summer downpours began

Rescue workers in Pakistan are struggling through mud and debris after deadly monsoon rains in the country left at least 117 people dead in the past 24 hours, disaster authorities said on Friday.

The worst hit was the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province , where 110 lives were lost, according to the provincial Disaster Management Authority. Seven others were killed in PoK, regional disaster management officials confirmed to AFP.

In Buner, in Pakistan's northwest, flash floods took at least 56 lives, a government administrator said.

In recent days, heavy monsoon rains have unleashed landslides and flash floods across northern Pakistan. A cloudburst in the north-western Bajaur district swept away several houses, killing several people and leaving many others stranded, according to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s disaster authority.

The meteorological department has issued a heavy rain alert for the northwest, warning residents to avoid “unnecessary exposure to vulnerable areas.”

Since the start of the summer monsoon, torrential rains, described by authorities as “unusual,” have killed more than 320 people, nearly half of them children. Most deaths have been caused by collapsing houses, flash floods and electrocutions.

Punjab, home to almost half of Pakistan’s 255 million people, saw 73% more rainfall in July than last year, with more fatalities than the entire previous monsoon.

Landslides and flash floods are common during the monsoon, which runs from June to late September. But scientists warn climate change is making such weather events more extreme and more frequent.

In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of Pakistan and killed 1,700 people. On Friday, rescuers pulled bodies from mud and rubble after a flash flood swept through a village, killing at least 60 people and washing away dozens more.