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urvivors of last month’s devastating floods in Bishnoi and Pir Baba, in Buner district, are struggling to rebuild their lives as hundreds of families living with relatives face the onset of winter without permanent shelter. For many, the disaster was not only about losing homes but also about the unbearable loss of loved ones.
Among the hardest hit is Muhammad Idrees, 27, a government primary school teacher who lost eight members of his family—his parents, two brothers, grandmother, aunt and two uncles—when flash floods swept through his village on August 15. His house was among those reduced to rubble.
“I want to build a house before winter sets in,” Idrees says. “In Buner, many families are living with relatives. In some cases, as many as three or four families have been forced to take refuge in a single house.”
The floods have left deep scars, not just on the land but also on people’s lives.
For now, Idrees, his wife and their daughter are staying at his uncle’s house. They are anxiously waiting for the compensation promised by the government. He knows that rebuilding will not be easy in the hilly terrain; it could take months. But he truly fears the possibility that he cannot rebuild before the bitter cold sets in.
On Tuesday, heavy rains once again triggered flash floods in the Bishnoi and Pir Baba streams.
“It felt like August 15 all over again,” Idrees recalls. “Mobile phone networks collapsed and people ran towards the hills. Thankfully, there was no loss of life this time. But the partially damaged houses suffered more destruction.”
For families like his, every rainfall now feels like a warning of what could happen again.
The story of Maulana Abdul Samad echoes similar despair. He lost six family members in the disaster as well as his house built over a kanal. Today, he lives with his maternal uncle. Some of his relatives have moved to Peshawar.
“The place where my house had once stood is buried under rocks,” Samad says. “There is no trace of it left. I now hope to rebuild my house on higher ground to stay safe from future floods.”
Samad says that in Buner’s mountainous setting, building a new home can take four months to a year, depending on whether families have ready funds and access to building materials. With winters fast approaching, for him and many others, the clock is ticking.
In the chaos that followed the floods, some organisations moved quickly to organise relief. The Alkhidmat Foundation was among the first to start rehabilitation planning.
“We have allocated Rs 1 billion for Phase 1,” says Akbar Ali Khan, president of the foundation’s Buner chapter. “We will construct 100 houses, sponsor 79 orphaned children, rebuild at least three fully and 24 partially damaged mosques and reconstruct two small bridges destroyed in the floods.”
Each house, he says, will cost Rs 3.5 million. It will have two living rooms, a guest room, a kitchen and a washroom. The Foundation is also providing financial support to 80 small businesses impacted by the floods. These efforts, though commendable, are only a fraction of what is needed on the ground.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, the August floods devastated six districts: Buner, Shangla, Swabi, Bajaur, Swat and Battagram. An emergency was declared in each.
According to the PDMA, across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at least 3,095 houses have been affected. 664 of these have been entirely destroyed and 2,431 partially damaged. In Buner alone, 273 houses were destroyed and 1,319 were partially damaged. In Shangla, 150 houses collapsed and 220 sustained partial damage. As many as 18 schools were also destroyed, 17 in Shangla and one in Buner. The floods also damaged 1,996 shops, 413 roads, 72 bridges and 589 government buildings.
Local officials say there has been some progress.
The Buner deputy commissioner’s office has reported payment of compensation so far for 154 destroyed houses, 545 partially damaged houses and 240 shops. Officials say the remaining compensation will be paid over the next few days.
Muzzammil Aslam, chief minister’s advisor on finance, says that the government has released Rs 8 billion for rescue, relief and rehabilitation.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who reviewed operations on Monday, directed the deputy commissioners to expedite relief and rehabilitation work. He had already announced significant increase in compensation.
As per the chief minister’s directives, compensation for destroyed houses has been increased from Rs 400,000 to one million rupees. For partially damaged houses, it has been increased from Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000. Compensation for destroyed shops has been fixed at Rs 500,000.
According to official data, Rs 367 million has been paid to 367 homeowners of destroyed houses. Rs 328 million has gone to 1,094 owners of partially damaged houses. Rs 126 million has been disbursed to 253 shopkeepers. Out of 406 damaged roads, 120 have been restored and 256 partially repaired.
To speed up recovery, the chief minister has directed construction using prefabricated structures for schools and health centres so that communities can access education and healthcare while permanent facilities are rebuilt.
For Idrees, the schoolteacher who now spends his evenings planning how to rebuild with whatever little he might receive, the survival of his family is the top priority.
“We cannot bring back those we have lost,” he says. “But if we can rebuild before winter, at least our children will have a roof over their heads. That is what matters most now.”
The writer is a multimedia producer. He tweets daudpasaney.