Pakistan continued to be hit by torrential rains with more than 20 people dying on August 20 in fresh flooding that has crippled several parts of the country over the last weeks.
In the financial capital, Karachi, rainfall reached levels not seen in years disrupting power, phone service, and flights.
Meanwhile, recovery crews looked for bodies and dug through debris in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province after deadly floods killed more than 350 people in the region.
RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal spoke to people in the Buner district, which was hit by flash flooding and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains.
Much of the village has been reduced to rubble and locals hunt for personal items as large diggers sift through the ruins shattered homes.
“The place where I am standing was my nephew’s house, and seven members of this family were killed,” said Muhammad Zahid, a resident in the village of Bishonai.
In the neighboring district of Swabi, there were similar scenes. RFE/RL spoke to a man named Safiullah who was grateful his family hadn’t been injured.
“A woman and three children were killed in this house,” he said gesturing to a collapsed building. “And up there, behind me, is my grandparents’ house. Thank God, no one was killed there.”
Torrential rain began on August 15 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, triggering flash floods that destroyed dozens of houses, left roads covered in water and debris.
Some residents have accused authorities of failing to warn them to evacuate danger areas, saying there were no alerts broadcast from mosques, a traditional method for such announcements in remote areas.
The government defended its actions, claiming that an early warning system is in place but that the sudden rains were so intense that the deluge hit before alerts could be sounded.
Asfandyar Khattak, chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority, said there was “no forecasting system anywhere in the world” that could predict the exact time and location of such a sudden and intense downpour.
