THE death toll from heavy monsoon rains that have triggered flash floods across northern Pakistan has risen to at least 321 people in the last 48 hours, disaster agencies said Saturday.
The majority of deaths, 307, were reported in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority said.
People gather near a damaged vehicle and scattered debris after the road washed out following a flash flood in Mingora, the main city of Swat Valley, in monsoon-hit northern Pakistan’s mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on August 16, 2025.
The meteorological department has issued a heavy rain alert for Pakistan’s northwest for the next few hours, urging people to take “precautionary measures”.
The provincial government also declared the severely affected mountainous areas as those in the districts of Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra and Battagram.
Meanwhile, the provincial rescue agency told AFP that around 2,000 rescue workers were engaged in recovering bodies from the debris and carrying out relief operations in nine affected districts.
“Due to road closures in most areas, rescue workers are travelling on foot to conduct operations in remote regions,” he added.
“They are trying to evacuate survivors, but very few people are relocating due to the deaths of their relatives or loved ones being trapped in the debris.”
