Army, NDMA leading rescue, relief drive as KP flood toll climbs to 323

• Buner worst hit with 217 dead; dozens still missing feared dead
• Troops airlift rations, set up field hospitals, start restoration of roads and bridges
• Sherry Rehman warns deforestation, climate change worsening floods
• NDMA forecasts more monsoon spells in high-risk zones ahead
• Intensity of this year’s monsoon is 50/60pc more than last year, says Lt-Gen Haider
• Says torrential rains killed 657 people, with 929 injured, since start of monsoon

PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD:The Pakistan Army, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and provincial agencies on Sunday ramped up large-scale rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), as the death toll rose to 323—including 217 in Buner alone, the worst-affected district.

Troops, helicopters and emergency teams are evacuating stranded families, distributing rations, pitching tents, setting up medical camps and working to restore washed-out roads and bridges. Army engineers have begun installing a replacement bridge linking Bajaur and Dir after the previous one was swept away, while helicopters continue to ferry food, medicines and stranded survivors from cut-off valleys.

Human Toll and Widespread Destruction

According to the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the dead include 273 men, 29 women, and 21 children, while another 156 people are injured. The torrential rains, which began on August 15, destroyed or damaged 336 homes, 57 schools, 23 public structures and 320 cattle, devastating both shelter and livelihoods.

Swat saw 219 homes damaged, while in Bajaur, Shangla, Mansehra and Battagram, scores of houses and roads were reduced to rubble. PDMA figures show 209 families displaced in Buner, where entire villages have been cut off by landslides.

Rescue 1122 reported that more than 850 people have been evacuated to safety in Buner alone, while 181 bodies have been recovered from debris in multiple localities. With mobile networks and power lines down in many areas, rescuers warned that dozens remain trapped under rubble and “chances of survival are slim.”

Army, NDMA and Relief Agencies in Action

The Pakistan Army has dispatched fresh contingents to Buner, Swat and Shangla, where helicopters continue to airlift rations—including flour, rice, pulses, milk powder, and cooking oil—to isolated settlements such as Khwar Banda. Army doctors have set up field hospitals offering free treatment, while soldiers have donated their own rations to affected families.

خیبر پختونخوا آرمی فلڈ ریلیف آپریشن اپڈیٹ

آرمی چیف کی خصوصی ہدایت کے مطابق خیبر پختونخوا کے سیلاب زدہ علاقوں میں پاک فوج کی جانب سے راشن کی تقسیم جاری

پاک فوج کے ہیلی کاپٹر خراب موسم کے باوجود بونیر ، شانگلہ اور سوات کے مختلف علاقوں میں ریسکیو اینڈ ریلیف آپریشن میں مصروف

پاک… pic.twitter.com/f56GHqUeZK

— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) August 17, 2025

The NDMA and KP PDMA have released Rs800 million for relief, including Rs500m for Buner. Convoys of aid trucks have delivered tents, blankets, mosquito nets, hygiene kits, kitchen sets and solar lamps to the hardest-hit districts. The NDMA said it is working closely with welfare organizations, including Alkhidmat Foundation, PRCS, Edhi Foundation, Islamic Relief, Penny Appeal and KS Relief to provide food, water and medical support.

In Gilgit-Baltistan, the Karakoram Highway’s Gilgit-Rawalpindi section was reopened after being blocked for four days by floods in Kohistan, restoring a key route for stranded passengers and tourists.

Voices from the Ground

AFP reporters in Buner described vehicles buried in mud, collapsed homes and villagers cutting through fallen trees to clear flooded roads. “There is still concern that dozens of people may be trapped under rubble,” KP Rescue 1122 spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi said. “We have 2,000 workers in the field, but the weather is slowing operations.”

Over 850 rescued across Buner

More than 850 people have been rescued and shifted to safer places while 181 bodies have been recovered in Buner’s districts of Gaddizi, Bishoni, Malikpur, Balokhan and other nearby areas which were worst affected, according to an update from Buner Rescue 1122 issued today.

“Dozens of houses in different districts have been reduced to rubble; agricultural lands and infrastructure have been severely damaged, while reports of loss of life are also alarming,” the update said.

In Daggar, the capital of Buner, 30 people died in Gokand, Kot and other districts, while 202 people, including women and children, were shifted to safer places.

A total of 41 bodies were recovered from Chagharzai while 35 people were rescued in injured condition and taken to the Rural Health Centre Hospital Gulbandi.

Three bodies were also recovered from the Salmani area of Mandanr and shifted to the district headquarters hospital.

“Buner Rescue 1122 personnel are continuously engaged in search and rescue operations day and night in the affected areas,” the statement said.

“Rescue personnel and emergency vehicles from Swabi have also joined the operation, while special rescue teams from Peshawar are also participating in relief activities in the affected areas.”

Rescue teams and district officials are continuously present in the field and on high alert to provide timely assistance to the affected people, it added.

Government’s Response

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur vowed to relocate families from flood-prone areas and provide them with new houses. “We will not tolerate encroachments along rivers,” he said, adding that restoration and compensation phases would follow the ongoing rescue efforts.

Climate Change Warnings

PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, a former climate change minister, said the deadly flooding in KP, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) was “clearly triggered by global climate change” and worsened by local governance failures.

She noted that extreme monsoon patterns are becoming more frequent in Pakistan due to rising global emissions, while poor land management and deforestation have left communities exposed. “The mega monsoon of 2025 has already claimed over 300 lives—most of them in KP—wiping out villages, triggering landslides, and causing mass displacements,” she wrote on X.

Rehman pointed out that forests serve as natural flood barriers by absorbing rainwater and reducing runoff. However, Pakistan has the highest deforestation rate in South Asia, retaining only 5 percent of its forest cover. “In the last three decades, our forest cover has shrunk by 18 percent—from 3.78 million hectares in 1992 to just 3.09 million hectares today,” she added.

She warned that districts like Swat, Chitral, Kohistan, Dir and Shangla—already hit hard by this year’s flooding—face ecological collapse due to illegal logging, wildfires, and conversion of forest land into housing schemes and farmland. According to locals, between 30 and 40 percent of Swat’s forests have been destroyed, with fears the figure could reach 70 percent if unchecked. “Deforestation is amplifying the impact of monsoons, turning heavy rains into disasters,” she said.

Monsoon Outlook and Worst to Come

At a briefing in Islamabad, NDMA Chairman Lt-Gen Inam Haider said the 2025 monsoon season has been 50–60 percent more intense than last year’s, with rainfall levels far above average in KP, GB and AJK.

National Disaster Management Authority and other government institutions are constantly in touch with provincial governments to coordinate relief and rehabilitation efforts in flood-affected areas@ndmapk @PDMAKP #News #RadioPakistan https://t.co/m9U6l2dsI8

— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) August 17, 2025

He said the current spell—the seventh this summer—will continue until August 22, to be followed by another, heavier system expected from August 23 to 30. At least two to three additional monsoon waves are likely in September.

So far, torrential rains have killed 657 people nationwide, including more than 340 deaths in KP alone, and injured 929. The NDMA chief identified Azad Kashmir, central KP, and southeastern Sindh districts such as Tharparkar, Sujawal, Tando Allah Yar, Tando Muhammad Khan and Badin as the highest-risk zones for the coming weeks.

Lt-Gen Haider said the NDMA has prepared a detailed monsoon contingency plan, mapping high-risk areas and pre-positioning relief supplies. The authority is coordinating with provincial governments and the armed forces to restore road connectivity, rebuild damaged bridges, and distribute emergency rations and medical supplies.

“Three converging weather systems are amplifying rainfall over Pakistan, and we are likely to see more flash floods and landslides before the season ends,” he warned. Pakistan, he added, remains among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, facing extreme weather events with growing frequency.