Houses damaged, communication lines cut, schools closed in some areas as rains continue
The death toll from flash floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in Pakistan rose to 321, authorities said on Saturday.
Most of the dead are in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the Provincial Disaster Management Authority Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said 307 people were killed.
Five people were reported killed in Gilgit-Baltistan province and nine others in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, also known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, over the past 24 hours.
Schools have been closed on Saturday in Azad Jammu and Kashmir due to the continued risk as heavy rains continue to batter the territory.
Dozens of houses have been damaged in affected areas.
Communications in multiple areas have also been cut off due to mobile phone towers being damaged.
A helicopter carrying relief supplies to the cloudburst-hit Bajaur area crashed on Friday, killing five crew members, including two pilots, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Heavy rain and cloudbursts caused widespread flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, spokesperson for the provincial rescue unit, Bilal Ahmed Faizi, told Anadolu on Friday.
Rescue teams said heavy rain and a cloudburst had caused massive flooding in the Salarzai area of the Bajaur district early Friday, resulting in the washing away of several houses.
Authorities have relocated many residents to safer places due to rains and landslides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
The National Disaster Management Authority has warned of another spell of monsoon rains from Friday until Sept. 10.
Authorities also cautioned that the rise in temperatures accelerated the melting of snow and glaciers across high-altitude regions, increasing water flows in rivers.
Monsoon rains, which typically last from June to September, often cause destruction across South Asia, including Pakistan, but climate change has increased their unpredictability and intensity in recent years.
