Monsoon rains kill 670, injure over 1,000 across Pakistan: NDMA

ISLAMABAD: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt-Gen Inam Haider said on Monday said the ongoing monsoon season has so far claimed 670 lives and left over 1,000 injured, with 80 to 90 people still missing.

“If the missing are not found, they will be added to the official death toll,” he said, adding that precarious monsoon conditions would persist until the end of August, with normalisation expected by late September.

Heavy rains and flash floods have killed more than 330 people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone and dozens more in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, according to Reuters.

Speaking at a joint press briefing with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Climate Change Minister Dr Musadik Malik, Lt-Gen Haider said the current monsoon spell is expected to subside by Friday, though two to three more torrential rain spells could follow. “The last spells will end by September 10,” he added.

Monday weather: heavy rain, flood threat in multiple regions

He said more than 425 relief camps have been set up in flood-hit areas, providing essential supplies and medical care. Displaced families are also being sheltered in schools and government buildings, while food distribution under the Prime Minister’s Ration Programme continues in coordination with provincial authorities.

Special army units have been deployed to assist in rescue and relief, while critically injured individuals are being airlifted to hospitals. Field ambulances and major hospitals remain on high alert, and the National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC) is coordinating real-time data sharing to support relief efforts.

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Pakistan Army Aviation bases have also activated reserve systems to support emergency evacuations, while large Combined Military Hospitals (CMHs) are on standby nationwide.

Lt-Gen Haider further warned that climate change is accelerating glacial melt, unleashing floods and debris flows that damage infrastructure in mountainous regions. Rehabilitation of roads, bridges, and basic services is under way.

The NDMA has completed a losses survey in Gilgit-Baltistan, with consolidated data to be shared by September 10. Buner district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the worst hit, with more than 200 deaths.

According to Reuters, heavy rainfall in Buner forced rescue operations to halt for several hours on Monday. “Our priority is now to clear the roads, set up bridges and bring relief to the affected people,” regional government officer Abid Wazir said.

Residents of Bayshonai Kalay village fled to higher ground as swollen water channels threatened further destruction, Reuters reported. Rescue teams used excavators to clear debris and restore access, while relief goods — including food, medicine, blankets, tents, generators, and de-watering pumps — were dispatched to affected areas, officials said.

Buner, located three-and-a-half hours from Islamabad, was struck by a rare cloudburst on Friday morning, with more than 150 mm of rain recorded within an hour.

Officials have warned of further heavy rainfall across Pakistan until early September. “The current weather system is active and may cause heavy to very heavy rainfall during the next 24 hours,” the disaster management authority said in its latest update.