Pakistan floods: Death toll rises to 307 as monsoon rains continue

Srinagar, Aug 16: The death toll from severe monsoon-triggered floods and landslides in Pakistan has climbed to 307, with numbers continuing to rise as per a BBC report.

The majority of fatalities have been reported in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, according to disaster management authorities. At least 74 homes have been damaged, and a rescue helicopter crashed during operations, killing all five crew members on board.

Elsewhere, nine deaths were confirmed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and five more in the Gilgit-Baltistan region in the north.

According to reports, government meteorologists have warned that heavy rainfall is expected to continue until 21 August, particularly in the northwest, where several areas have already been declared disaster zones.

The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gadapur while speaking to BBC said that an M-17 helicopter crashed due to bad weather while flying to Bajaur, a region bordering Afghanistan. As per officials in July, Punjab, home to nearly half of Pakistan's 255 million people, recorded 73% more rainfall than the previous year and more deaths than in the entire previous monsoon.

Monsoon rains between June and September deliver about three-quarters of South Asia's annual rainfall. Landslides and flooding are common and more than 300 people have died in this year's season, as per various reports.