Pakistan’s northwest region was hit by heavy rain, with local officials reporting nearly 200 deaths in the past 24 hours and severe weather causing a rescue helicopter to crash.
According to Reuters, local officials said that the heavy rain triggered flash floods, thunderstorms, and building collapses, causing casualties in the hilly and mountainous areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The death toll, as announced by Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority on Friday night, stands at 194 people.
Shahab Ali Shah, the Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, told Reuters that the most severely affected area is Buner, where floods and heavy rain have already claimed the lives of over a hundred people.
In the Bajaur region near the Afghanistan border, a helicopter crashed while delivering relief supplies to people affected by the floods due to the adverse weather conditions, resulting in the deaths of five crew members.
Rescue workers mentioned that in the Swat region, over 2,000 people have been relocated to safer places after the river water levels rose.
The Prime Minister’s Office of Pakistan released a statement saying that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif chaired an emergency meeting to review the flood situation caused by recent rainfall.
In recent weeks, Pakistan has been experiencing the monsoon season with rainfall exceeding the previous years’ levels, leading to roads and buildings being washed away and resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people.