Relentless monsoon rains have unleashed catastrophic flooding across Pakistan, leaving at least 831 people dead and tens of thousands displaced as rivers overflow and entire communities are swept away.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the hardest-hit province is Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where 480 people have lost their lives. Punjab has reported 191 fatalities, followed by Sindh with 58, Gilgit-Baltistan with 41, Balochistan with 24, Azad Kashmir with 29, and Islamabad with eight deaths. Children account for 219 of the deceased, alongside 484 men and 128 women.
The scale of destruction is staggering. At least 238 bridges have collapsed, 661 kilometers of road networks have been submerged, 9,000 homes wiped out, and more than 6,000 livestock lost. More than 2,300 villages have been inundated after three rivers cutting through Punjab and bordering India swelled to record levels. Over 35,000 people have been displaced, with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa sheltering the majority at 26,000, followed by Punjab with 6,000 and Gilgit-Baltistan with 3,000.
Amid the mounting crisis, the European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced Rs350 million (€1.05 million) in emergency humanitarian assistance. The funds will be channeled through international partners to provide life-saving health services, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) support to curb disease outbreaks, and cash relief for vulnerable families.
“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the victims and all those affected by this disaster,” the EU said in a statement, reaffirming its solidarity with Pakistan in this time of need.
Officials have warned that extreme weather patterns tied to climate change are likely to intensify the frequency of floods, droughts, and heatwaves in Pakistan, one of the countries most at risk from climate-driven disasters.
