With at least 307 confirmed dead, the number of fatalities from severe monsoon floods and landslides in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir is still steadily increasing.
The majority of the fatalities were reported by disaster officials in the northwest Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is hilly. A rescue chopper crashed during operations, killing five of its crew members, and at least 74 dwellings have been destroyed.
Authorities reported that five people died in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan area and nine people died in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
According to government forecasters, the northwest of the country, where multiple places have been designated disaster zones, may have significant rainfall until August 21.
According to one survivor in Buner, the floodwaters came like "doomsday" to the news agency AFP.
"As though the mountain were sliding, I heard a huge noise. When I hurried outside, I noticed that everyone was trembling as if the world were ending," Azizullah stated.
"The ground was trembling due to the force of the water, and it felt like death was staring me in the face."
While traveling to Bajaur, a district that borders Afghanistan, the M-17 helicopter crashed owing to terrible weather, according to Ali Amin Gadapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to AFP images, a crowd gathered around an excavator that was scouring a muddy slope near Bajaur. In a nearby pasture, funeral prayers got underway as mourners stood in front of multiple blanket-covered remains.
A day of mourning has been announced by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Rescuers removed remains from mud and debris in the Indian-administered region of Kashmir on Friday after a flood swept through a Himalayan village, killing at least 60 people and displacing scores more.
The monsoon season, which lasts from June to September, provides around three-quarters of South Asia's yearly precipitation. Flooding and landslides are frequent, and this year's season has claimed over 300 lives.
Punjab, which is home to almost half of Pakistan's 255 million people, saw more fatalities in July than during the entire previous monsoon and 73% more rainfall than the previous year.
Climate warming, according to scientists, has increased the frequency and severity of weather disasters.
One of the most glaciated regions in the world is northern Pakistan; however, due to global warming, the glaciers are rapidly thinning and retreating, making debris like boulders, dirt, and other materials susceptible to being dislodged.
Now, monsoon rains cause landslides by further destabilizing the mountains.
Glaciers suggest that ice melt is a contributing element in the recent floods and landslides, while the precise cause is still unknown.
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