• Ongoing monsoon spells flanked by flash floods and cloud bursts have killed nearly 700 people across country since late June

ISLAMABAD

Torrential rains flanked by cloud bursts and flash floods continued to batter Pakistan on Tuesday, killing more than 400 people over the past five days, a disaster management authority said.

A majority of casualties have been reported from several districts of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where 352 people have lost their lives in flood-related accidents since Aug. 14, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said.

Remaining deaths have been reported from Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan region.

Some 50 people were killed in rain-related incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, southwestern Balochistan province, southeastern Sindh province, Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan over the past 24 hours, according to the National Disaster Management Authority and local media.

Heavy rains pounded the country's largest city and the commercial capital Karachi on Tuesday, inundating streets and low-lying areas, knocking out power and propelling the administration to impose an emergency.

The latest monsoon spell struck northwestern Pakistan on Friday last, washing away villages and bushes, triggering landslides, and causing rivers and streams to overflow in several districts.

Remote Buner district is the hardest-hit, where 222 people have been killed since Friday last.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority, nearly 700 people have been killed, while more than 1,000 have been injured due to rains and floods since late June.

A large part of Beshonai village in Buner was wiped out Friday night, with rescue teams still searching for survivors.

Several districts in the province, including Buner, Bajaur, Swat, Battagram, Mansehra, Shangla, Swabi, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, and Torghar, are among the worst-hit areas, with numerous deaths and widespread destruction reported.

The flooding was triggered by torrential rains that began Thursday night and continued into Friday morning, followed by a cloudburst that worsened the devastation. Another spell of heavy rain began on Monday.

According to the PDMA, some 780 houses have been damaged so far, including 349 completely destroyed, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Authorities have warned that heavy rainfall is expected to continue until Aug. 21 in the province and urged residents to take precautionary measures.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced that more than 25,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas and more than 1,000 people have been admitted to hospitals.