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The death toll in the flood-ravaged province of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has surged to 365, as torrential rains and flash floods continue to batter the region, with new casualties and destruction reported across several districts, Dawn reported.
According to Dawn, citing the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), at least 225 deaths occurred in Buner district alone, while over 180 others have been injured since Friday. Rescue and relief efforts remain underway across the worst-hit regions, including Swabi, South Waziristan, Tank, Abbottabad, and Mansehra, where landslides and collapsed bridges have cut off access to numerous remote villages. On Tuesday, severe flash floods in Upper South Waziristan's Servekai subdivision washed away key bridges and roads, leaving many areas completely isolated, as reported by Dawn. In Tank, heavy rain caused hill streams to overflow, inundating the city and forcing the closure of the Tank-Waziristan highway. In Swabi, the death toll climbed to 24, with seven more bodies recovered from the Gadoon Amazai area, Dawn reported. Local officials confirmed that several residents remain missing under collapsed structures, as 12 homes were destroyed in the village of Dalori alone. Meanwhile, in Abbottabad, the collapse of the Lora Nagri Bridge has disrupted connectivity between Tehsil Lora and major cities like Rawalpindi. Hundreds of villages have been left inaccessible. Mansehra district also reported casualties, with the recovery of 18 out of 20 individuals swept away earlier in Haleem Bandi Neelband, Dawn reported, citing Baffa-Pakhal tehsil municipal officer Mazhar Muzafar Awan. "A total of 20 men, women and children were swept away in the flood earlier this week, and now 18 bodies have been recovered. The search for the remaining two is still underway," he said, as quoted by Dawn. Responding to what has been declared a national emergency, Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that over 25,000 people have been rescued since August 17 and highlighted that the armed forces, civil departments, and disaster management authorities are coordinating efforts to address the crisis, the Dawn reported. The Pakistani Army's media and public relations wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), confirmed that nine military and paramilitary units have been deployed across KP and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB). These include engineer brigades, search and rescue teams, and medical units. More than 6,900 people have been rescued, over 6,300 treated at medical camps, and relief rations totalling 585 tonnes have also been distributed, the Dawn reported, citing the DG of ISPR. According to the ISPR DG, military aviation is also assisting with evacuations and delivering critical supplies, with 90 damaged roads in KP under restoration, with nine fully reopened and 86 partially functional, Dawn reported. The Pakistan National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported ongoing efforts to provide emergency relief to districts like Swabi, Malakand, Buner, and Shangla. Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has begun supplying emergency aid, including tents, sleeping bags, floodlights, stretchers, and first-aid kits to the worst-hit areas, the Dawn reported. (ANI)
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