Flash floods have swept through Pakistan’s mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least 11 people including four children and three women and leaving six others injured as torrential monsoon rains battered the region. The disaster, which struck after two days of relentless downpours, caused the Swat River to surge, inundating homes and sweeping away entire families.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the floods damaged 56 houses, destroying six completely and partially affecting 50 more. The Swat Valley was hit hardest, with ten fatalities reported in the area. In one particularly tragic incident in the Fizagat area, two tourist families having breakfast by the riverbank were caught off guard by the sudden rise in water level; 17 people were swept away, with only three rescued so far.
Rescue operations are ongoing, with dozens still believed to be trapped and authorities issuing alerts to downstream districts, including Peshawar, Charsadda, and Nowshera, to brace for possible flooding from the Swat region. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that the risk of severe rainfall and further flash floods will persist until at least Tuesday.
The catastrophe has reignited urgent calls for climate action. Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s former climate change minister, criticized the nation’s “sleepwalk” approach to climate-related disasters, warning that denial and inaction are worsening the impacts of extreme weather. She emphasized that these events are not merely “natural disasters,” but are being intensified by climate change and require accountability and systemic change.
Pakistan, home to 240 million people, is considered one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. The nation has experienced a series of deadly weather events in recent years, including the catastrophic 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and affected more than 33 million people.
With rescue efforts still underway and the threat of more rain looming, affected communities remain on high alert, bracing for further hardship in a region already battered by climate-driven disasters.
