More than 340 people have been killed in northwestern Pakistan, where thousands of rescuers struggled through rain and mud following deadly landslides and flooding that buried villages.
Torrential rain began on August 15, triggering flash floods that destroyed dozens of houses, left roads covered in water and debris, and killed at least 344 people across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
In the hardest-hit Buner district of the mountainous province in northern Pakistan, "10 to 12 entire villages" were partially buried, local officials reported.
Bilal Ahmed Faizi, a spokesman for the province's rescue agency, said at least 208 people were killed in Buner as a result of the disaster. He added that around 2,000 rescue workers were engaged in recovering bodies from the debris.
On August 17, the death toll rose as 54 more bodies were recovered, said Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for the emergency service.
Earlier, Asfandyar Khattak, head of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said more than 150 people were still missing, adding that survivors might be trapped under the rubble of their homes or swept away by floodwaters.
As the rescue operation continued, heavy rain made efforts extremely difficult. Khattak said electricity and mobile signals were down after power lines and mobile towers were damaged in the floods.
He also said that dozens of people were reported missing in the neighboring Shangla district.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur visited the worst-affected districts of Buner and Swat on August 16 and 17.
At a press conference, he said the provincial government is prepared to provide all necessary assistance to flood victims. A day earlier in Buner, Gandapur had also pledged to rebuild homes for displaced residents.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast a new spell of rainfall in several areas, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a statement on August 17, it said the rains are expected to continue until August 21.
Floods in recent months have caused huge financial and personal losses to people in different parts of Pakistan.
Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority said that from June to the end of July various incidents and floods during the rains killed or injured almost a thousand people, most of whom were women and children.
Experts say that flooding has increased in recent years partly because of climate change, which is causing rain to occur suddenly in intense downpours over small areas instead of steady rain over a longer period of time and a wider geographical area.
