By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Heavy rainfall and relentless flooding have swept across Pakistan, claiming at least six lives in the past 24 hours and driving the nation’s monsoon death toll to 258, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported on Thursday.
The downpours have injured five more people in the same period, underscoring the escalating human and material toll of a weather crisis that has demolished homes, killed livestock, and left communities reeling.
Pakistan’s annual monsoon season, spanning June to September, frequently unleashes floods, landslides, and displacement, especially in regions ill-equipped to handle the deluge. This year’s rains have proven exceptionally brutal, with the NDMA tallying 616 injuries alongside the 258 deaths since the season began. Among the deceased are 89 men, 46 women, and 123 children, while the injured include 243 men, 170 women, and 203 children, a grim testament to the indiscriminate reach of the disaster.
In the last day alone, the NDMA documented three deaths and five injuries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two fatalities in Islamabad, and one in Sindh, all tied to rain-related incidents. Punjab has emerged as the hardest-hit province, with 139 deaths and 477 injuries recorded as of Wednesday. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows with 60 deaths, Sindh with 24, and smaller but significant tolls in Balochistan (16), Islamabad (6), Gilgit-Baltistan (5), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (2).
Over the past 24 hours, 22 homes were reduced to rubble and 36 livestock animals perished, adding to a season-long toll of 1,027 demolished houses and 364 dead animals. The NDMA attributes most fatalities to collapsing homes (143), followed by flash floods (41), drownings (36), lightning strikes (13), electrocutions (12), and landslides (4).
At Babusar Top, a cloudburst unleashed a deadly flash flood that swept away a family desperately trying to save three-year-old Abdul Hadi. Among them was Dr. Mishal, who leapt into the raging waters to rescue the boy but perished in the attempt. In Rawalpindi, Retired Colonel Ishaq Qazi, and his 25-year-old daughter vanished a day earlier when floodwaters dragged their car into a drain. Rescue teams recovered Qazi’s body on Thursday near the Soan River bridge, but the search for his daughter persists. “Rescue 1122 found the bonnet and a door of the car under the bridge,” said District Emergency Officer Sibghatullah, who earlier noted operations had stretched into a third day.
Anger flared in Rawalpindi, where residents of Metro City Housing Society blocked the Grand Trunk Road on Wednesday night, furious over the failure to recover a 17-year-old boy who drowned crossing a nullah. “The water was moving at high speed, and the boy could not be saved,” two relatives said after jumping in to help. Despite Rescue 1122’s efforts, the body remains missing, fueling protests over perceived inaction.
Amid the chaos, the NDMA and other agencies have mounted a Herculean response. From June 26 to July 24, 2025, they conducted 148 rescue operations nationwide, saving 1,777 lives. Punjab saw 128 missions that evacuated 1,543 stranded people, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 10 operations rescued 116. Sindh’s three efforts saved 53, Balochistan’s two missions rescued five, and Gilgit-Baltistan’s single operation pulled 25 from danger. In Islamabad, four high-risk missions saved 35 lives. On Wednesday, Rescue 1122 in Punjab’s Attock district evacuated 40 people trapped in a canal near the Indus River after a five-hour operation led by District Emergency Officer Ali Hussain.
In Gilgit-Baltistan, the toll of climate change grows starkly visible. Flash floods in Diamer district claimed six lives by on Thursday, up from four on Monday, as rescuers scoured Babusar valley for missing tourists. “The search operation to locate the remaining tourists at Babusar is underway,” said government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq after another body was found. In Ghanche district, floods ravaged Kandos villages, damaging a dozen homes, a dispensary, mosques, and crops, while Sikarkoi’s Dass Mohallah saw similar destruction, Rescue 1122 reported.
As the monsoon rages on, the NDMA remains vigilant, urging citizens to heed safety advisories. Last week, Punjab imposed Section 144 and declared emergencies in several districts after floods killed over 60 people in a single day.
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