PESHAWAR/RAWALPINDI: With the country’s northern areas, predominantly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, facing wide-scale destruction and loss of life due to rains and floods, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned of more intense torrential rains across the country commencing today (Sunday). “Strong monsoon currents from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are continuously penetrating into the country. Low Pressure System (LPA) over the Bay of Bengal is likely to move westward from August 17 (today) and intensify this monsoon activity,” the Met Office said in a statement.
Widespread rain-wind/thundershowers (with scattered heavy falls at times very heavy) are expected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dir, Chitral, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Battagram, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, Buner, Malakand, Bajaur, Mohmand, Kohat and Peshawar.Heavy downpour is likely in Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Waziristan, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan till August 19 (Tuesday).
Residents gather in front of damaged houses after flash floods in the Buner district of the monsoon-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on August 16, 2025. — AFP
Residents gather in front of damaged houses after flash floods in the Buner district of the monsoon-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on August 16, 2025. — AFPThe forecast comes as the deaths in rain-related incidents across the country, mostly KP, GB and AJK, have surpassed the grim 300-mark with KP reporting the highest tally of 313 fatalities as per a statement issued by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Sunday.GB and AJK have reported 12 and 11 fatalities so far — pushing the total death toll in northern areas to at least 336.
Giving a breakdown of the deaths in KP, the PDMA said that those killed in various incidents include 263 men, 29 women and 21 children.