DIR, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Saturday issued an advisory to limit tourism in mountainous areas after the death toll from torrential rains and floods in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in the last 48 hours increased to 308, according to an official statement.
The NDMA put the nationwide monsoon death toll at 507 on Friday, reporting 194 casualties in the preceding 24 hours, with 180 in KP, five in Gilgit-Baltistan and nine in Azad Kashmir.
In the last 48 hours, raging hill torrents swept away dozens of people in KP’s Swat, Buner, Bajaur, Torghar, Mansehra, Shangla and Battagram districts, with a fresh Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) update recording at least 308 confirmed deaths during the period, suggesting that the overall nationwide toll has likely exceeded 600.
Rescuers, backed by boats and helicopters, worked for hours in KP and other areas to save stranded residents and tourists as ambulances transported bodies to hospitals.
“On the Prime Minister’s directive, the National Disaster Management Authority has issued an advisory to limit tourism in mountainous areas due to the intensity of the monsoon,” the NDMA said in a statement.
