The death toll from the recent torrential rains and flash floods across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has climbed to 358, another 181 people have been injured, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority. The PDMA report states that among the dead are 287 men, 41 women and 30 children. The injured include 144 men, 27 women and 10 children. The floods have also damaged 780 houses—431 have been partially damaged while 349 have been completely destroyed.
Buner district has emerged as the worst-hit, reporting 225 fatalities so far. Other severely affected districts include Swat, Bajaur, Mansehra, Shangla, Lower Dir, Battagram and Swabi. Within hours, relentless rains, swollen streams and cloudbursts turned quiet valleys into torrents of destruction. Nine districts have been declared flood-affected.
On August 16, Buner received a high-profile visitor. Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur arrived to witness the devastation firsthand. In just seven village councils, hundreds of houses had been damaged.
Accompanied by provincial ministers, and PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah and senior officials, Gandapur toured Bishonai and Pir Baba. He met grieving families, offered fateha for the deceased and promised compensation to the survivors.
“The loss of human lives is an irreparable tragedy,” he was reported as saying to them. “But I guarantee that the financial losses will be covered and no affected person will be left behind.”
At the deputy commissioner’s office, Gandapur chaired a meeting where officials laid out the scale of relief efforts. More than 1,300 personnel, Rescue 1122 teams, doctors, paramedics, police, civil defence volunteers and three Pakistan Army battalions were in action. Heavy machinery was used to clear blocked roads; 6 kilometres of Pir Baba Road and 3.5 kilometres of Gokand Road had been reopened. Nearly 3,500 residents had been rescued from villages that had been cut-off.
Relief supplies, food, tents, blankets and medicines were brought in daily. The chief minister ordered swift compensation payments and prioritised the restoration of roads and bridges.
Malik Naik Muhammad Khan Dawar, the chief minister’s special assistant on relief, also visited Buner. Meeting families of those he called “flood martyrs,” he announced compensation: Rs 2 million for each deceased, and Rs 500,000 for each injured person. Losses to livestock, shops and homes would also be assessed.
“The flood victims are the responsibility of the provincial government. Every possible step will be taken to support and rehabilitate them,” Dawar said.
By August 17, Gandapur had moved to Swat, where Mingora city was reeling from the valley’s worst damage. At the commissioner’s office, he reviewed the rescue and relief operations, again assuring families that they would not be left behind.
Province-wide, the scale of the relief effort is vast: over 5,000 people have been rescued by Rescue 1122; 100 damaged roads have been reopened; and more than 23,000 ready-to-eat food packs have been distributed along with tents, blankets, mosquito nets and hygiene kits. In Buner alone, two mobile hospitals and emergency medical teams had been deployed.
The government has already released Rs 1.5 billion for immediate relief and another Rs 1.5 billion for restoring the communication networks. Compensation payments to bereaved families have begun; surveys of damaged houses, shops and livestock are under way. The provincial government has doubled the compensation for the deceased, from one million to two million rupees per person.
Over 5,000 people have been rescued by Rescue 1122; 100 damaged roads have been reopened; and more than 23,000 ready-to-eat food packs have been distributed along with tents, blankets, mosquito nets and hygiene kits.
On August 19, the chief minister arrived at Swabi. He briefed the media that a cloudburst there had claimed 28 lives and left 26 injured, while seven people remained missing. He said that across flood-hit districts, at least 127 people were still missing and the toll could rise.
He also announced a major project to clean and widen waterways across the province. Populations vulnerable to landslides and floods in hilly areas would be relocated to safer places. Calling encroachments on waterways a “serious threat to human lives,” he stressed that they would be removed at all costs and appealed for public cooperation.
To ensure transparency, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has launched a new Digital Disaster Compensation Management system, developed on an emergency basis by the KP IT Board. It has been integrated into its central app, Dastak.
Flood-affected families can upload details of damage to property and file compensation claims online. Built-in geo-tagging prevents duplicate claims. Once verified, payments are transferred directly into bank accounts. A real-time dashboard provides the chief minister and senior officials with live updates on damages and disbursements.
“This will not only ensure timely compensation but also guarantee transparency at every stage. Swift relief and essential facilities for flood victims are the government’s top priority,” Gandapur had said.
In a show of solidarity, Gandapur announced that he would donate a month’s salary to the victims. He said other provincial members would contribute half their salaries and members of the provincial assembly seven days’ worth. Senior government officials will donate two days’ salary and junior employees one day’s salary.
“Every penny of this fund will be accounted for. The public will be kept informed,” Gandapur promised. “In this difficult hour, all of us must step forward and help generously.”
For now, tents, food packs and medicines constitute immediate relief. The presence of government leaders, rescue teams and army units is reassuring to the shattered communities.
Beyond high-level meetings and press statements lies the challenge of rebuilding thousands of homes; restoring damaged infrastructure; and helping families reclaim livelihoods.
For the people of Buner, Swat and other affected districts, the government’s immediate response has brought some comfort in their darkest days. Whether promises of relief and rehabilitation translate into lasting recovery will be determined by how quickly normal life returns to the districts that have been scarred by nature’s fury.
Qaiser Khan, a resident of Pir Baba in Buner, says the devastation was terrifying, “One wonders how water could carry such massive boulders. Entire houses with their residents have been swept away. At present, the biggest challenge is locating the missing.”
He says that alongside the Pakistan Army machinery, local bulldozers and other heavy-duty equipment used in marble mining are being deployed to remove the large rocks. “The bodies of some of the missing people may be found beneath those.”
In Mingora city, the biggest challenge is removing the debris. The flood has dumped rubble up to four feet deep into the streets. Ihsan Haqqani, a local of Mingora, says the task is beyond the capacity of residents alone and requires state support.
“Rescue workers, TMA staff and locals are working together. But disposal remains a problem. With no dumping site available, much of the debris is being thrown back into the same seasonal streams that were flooded so recently.”
The writer is a multimedia producer. He tweets daudpasaney.