Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) announced on Saturday, August 16, that monsoon rains over the past 48 hours have claimed the lives of 225 people. Most of the casualties were reported in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier, the agency reported that at least 78 people had died in the Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with dozens more injured.
Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities confirmed that a military helicopter involved in rescue operations crashed due to bad weather, killing all five crew members. According to Al Jazeera, the aircraft belonged to the Pakistani army and was used to reach remote areas affected by the disaster.
Rescue teams successfully evacuated 1,300 stranded tourists from Mansehra district, where a landslide had blocked roads since Thursday.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued a warning for further heavy rains in the northwest and urged the public to avoid “unnecessary movement in vulnerable areas.”
Landslides and flash floods are common during the monsoon season, which typically begins in June and lasts through the end of September.
