At least 31 dead, 24 missing after flash floods in northwestern Pakistan

At least 31 people were killed and 24 went missing in flash floods triggered by heavy rains that pounded a remote area of northwestern Pakistan that has now been declared a state of emergency, official sources said Sunday.

“The flash floods washed away 31 people last night in Chitral district” of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, provincial Disaster Management Authority spokesman Latif ur Rehman told EFE.

According to Rehman, “all of them are dead”, although only seven of the bodies have been recovered so far.

The seven were in a mosque in Ursoon village near the border with Afghanistan when the flash flood struck, and their bodies were found on the Afghan side, said Rehman.

Ten others from the mosque who were carried away by the flood are still missing, he said, adding that heavy rain began in the village around 9.30pm local time (4.30pm GMT) Saturday.

The same source said “a military checkpost was also washed away and eight soldiers are missing,” and noted 35 houses were destroyed and 47 damaged in the affected area.

“A state of emergency has been declared in the district, and access to affected areas is difficult as it is a remote region. In some areas, affected people have been taken to safer places and given food,” said Rehman, adding that telecommunication systems have also been affected.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked emergency agencies to speed up rescue and relief operations, in a statement expressing his grief over the loss of life.

In April, heavy rains led to 92 deaths in the country and affected thousands, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Each year, rains cause significant loss of life and property in south Asian countries, especially during the monsoon period between June and September.

The worst floods in Pakistan took place in 2010 after an extraordinarily heavy monsoon and a specially pronounced summer melt, claiming 2,000 lives and affecting over 20 million people.