The Provincial Authority of Disaster Management (PDMA) on Thursday that recent rains and sudden floods have killed 393 people and wounded 190 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, as temperatures begin to relieve and more rainfall in several districts are predicted.
The agency said the killed included 300 men, 53 women and 40 children, while the injured were 145 men, 27 women and 18 children. A total of 1,618 houses have been damaged, including 1,185 partially and 433 completely destroyed.
Buner has been the worst district beaten with 234 deaths, followed by 42 in Swabi. Other affected districts include Swat, Bajaur, Mansehra, Shangla, Lower Dir and Battagram.
Read: Fresh Deluit feared as NDMA emits urgent warning
PDMA has ordered local administrations to accelerate help operations and provide immediate assistance. Its emergency operations center remains active, with a free help line (1700) to inform emergencies.
The Department of Meteorology said that temperatures throughout the province, including Peshawar, have begun to decrease, with a more acute drop expected in mountainous areas. The rain with thunder and rays is likely in Chitral, Dir, Swat, Buner, Malakand and Shangla.
Similar conditions are forecast for upper and lower Kohistan, Kolai Palas, Battagram, Torghar, Mansehra and Haripur, while Abbottabad, Bajaurm and Kurram could also see storms with racing winds.
Read more: KP schools closed on August 19, due to sudden floods
Talking with The express trusteeThe expert in disaster and climate change, Fatima Yamin, said that Pakistan must invest more in long -term resilience instead of just a short -term response. “Mitigation and adaptation are important, but they are often overloaded. What needs more investment is prevention and prevention, because these can prepare us for what is coming and avoid large -scale damage to infrastructure, especially households and schools,” he added.
Yamin added that the absence of disaster insurance or immediate compensation leaves vulnerable affected families. “People have to rebuild their livelihood from scratch,” he said, warning that mining, deforestation and industrialization without control are worsening the impact of extreme climatic events.
In Pakistan’s international positioning, Yamin said that greater transparency was essential. “It seems that we are investing more of our internal resources in humanitarian response instead of prevention and preparation. Governments and international organizations are providing adaptation and mitigation funds, but we are not clearly showing how much we spend in these areas of our national income, not only loans and subsidies,” he said.
