Hopes for survivors fade while Pakistani rescuers are looking for 150 missing | Climatic news

The rescuers are looking for more than 150 people who still lacked North West Pakistan on Monday, which was devastated by landslides and sudden floods on Friday.

Torrential rains have triggered flash foods Kill at least 344 people And destroying hundreds of houses.

Most of the deaths – 317 – were reported in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where monsoon rains, expected only intensifying in the coming days, led floods and landslides that collapsed.

According to the authorities, more than 150 people are missing in Buner, where at least 208 were killed and “10 to 12 whole villages” were partly buried, according to the authorities.

“They could be trapped under the rubble of their houses, or carried away by flood waters,” said Asfandyar Khattak, head of the provincial authority for the management of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa disasters.

“In addition, in the district of Shangla, dozens of people will also have disappeared,” added Khattak.

The spokesperson for the province’s rescue agency said that around 2,000 rescuers were involved in nine districts, where the rain is still hindering efforts.

“The operation to save people trapped under the debris is underway,” said Bilal Ahmad Faizi.

“The chances of people buried under surviving debris are very thin,” he added.

After days without electricity, the electricity supply was restored on Sunday afternoon.

Flooded roads hampered the movement of rescue vehicles, while a few villagers worked to cut the fallen trees to open the path after the duration of the water.

The provincial government has declared the seriously affected mountain districts of Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra and Battagram as affected areas in the event of a disaster.

Hundreds of people gathered for mass funeral on Saturday, where bodies wrapped in white bloody shawls were arranged on the village’s soil.

Iran said it was ready to provide “any cooperation and assistance aimed at alleviating suffering” in neighboring Pakistan, while Pope Leo XIV addressed prayer floods “for all those who suffer because of this calamity”.

The monsoon season brings southern Asia to about three quarters of its annual – vital precipitation for agriculture and food supply – but also brings destruction.

“The intensity of this year’s monsoon is around 50 to 60% more than last year,” said Lieutenant-General Inam Haider, president of the National Disaster Agency.

“Two to three additional monsoon spells are expected until the first weeks of September,” he told journalists in Islamabad.

The landslides and the sudden floods are common during the season, which generally begins in June and softens at the end of September.

The torrential rains that have struck Pakistan since the start of the summer monsoon killed more than 650 people, with more than 920 injured.

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change and is disputed by extreme weather events with an increasing frequency.