Death toll from devastating floods in Pakistan rises to 706

Widespread monsoon rains have triggered catastrophic flooding and accidents across Pakistan, raising the death toll to 706, according to official figures released Wednesday (August 20). The army has intensified relief operations in the worst-hit areas.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported that at least 24 more people died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total fatalities since June 26 to 706. Another 965 people have been injured in various incidents.

The hardest-hit region is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, where 427 people have died so far. Other casualties include:

• Punjab: 164 deaths
• Sindh: 29 deaths
• Balochistan: 22 deaths
• Pakistan-administered Kashmir: 56 deaths
• Islamabad: 8 deaths

Recent fatalities have been reported from Swabi, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar, where relentless rainfall and flash floods wreaked havoc.

The Buner district is the single most devastated area, with 222 confirmed deaths and many still missing. On August 15, the village of Basonai in Buner was partially destroyed, and rescuers continue to search for survivors. Other severely affected districts include Bajaur, Swat, Battagram, Mansehra, Shangla, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, and Torghar.

The situation worsened after cloudbursts compounded the flooding between Thursday night and Friday morning. Heavy rainfall returned to the region again on Monday.

Authorities in KP reported that about 780 homes have been damaged, of which 349 were completely destroyed.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that over 25,000 people have already been evacuated to safety, and more than 1,000 people are hospitalized.

Officials have warned of continued heavy rainfall until August 21 and urged locals to take precautionary measures.