PESHAWAR: A government report has highlighted the devastating effects of a recent cloudburst and flooding in Buner district, which caused massive destruction to lives, property, and infrastructure, ARY News reported.
The report stated that Buner recorded the highest death toll, with 234 people losing their lives.
The floods destroyed 162 houses and left 575 partially damaged. Infrastructure suffered major losses, including 110 kilometers of roads, bridges, and other facilities.
Agriculture took a severe hit as 55,890 acres of farmland were submerged, 26,142 acres of crops were ruined, and 3,638 livestock perished, with damages exceeding Rs 250 million.
Around 825 shops were also destroyed, while the Public Health Department reported Rs 194.8 million worth of losses due to collapsed water channels.
The Education Department confirmed that 29 schools were damaged, including one that was destroyed. The Highway Authority reported damages of over Rs 320 million after 4 kilometers of road were washed away.
Authorities warned that massive resources would be needed for rehabilitation efforts as the region struggles to recover.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the federal government’s support for flood-affected families and directed urgent rehabilitation in the worst-hit districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a federal cabinet meeting, he voiced concern over the devastation caused by recent rains, cloudbursts, and flash floods in Swat, Swabi, Mansehra, Shangla, and other regions.
He said federal ministers, secretaries, NDMA, and the armed forces were fully involved in rescue and relief operations.
Recalling the destruction of the 2022 floods that killed nearly 100 people, the premier said this year’s flash floods had caused an even higher toll, with over 700 deaths across the country, more than 400 of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He also expressed solidarity with victims in Karachi, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The prime minister stressed the need to stop illegal construction along waterways, warning it worsened flood risks, and raised concern over unchecked deforestation in Galyat and other areas, announcing he would soon call a meeting on environmental protection.