Two days before his wedding, Noor Muhammad spoke to his mother on a long phone call. Just hours later, catastrophic floods struck Pakistan, killing her along with 23 of his relatives in Buner, the worst-affected district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The remote mountainous regions of northern KP were ravaged by cloudbursts, flash floods, lightning, and landslides in what officials called the deadliest spell of this year’s monsoon.
Standing beside the rubble of his family’s 36-room house in Qadir Nagar, Muhammad recalled his mother’s joy during their last conversation. The massive house, built near a flood channel, was swept away along with markets and buildings as torrents of water, mud, and boulders crashed down from the mountains.
Buner, located about three and a half hours from Islamabad, has suffered the heaviest toll. Of nearly 400 flood-related deaths in the northwest since August 15, over 200 have been reported from this district alone.
“I lost everything—my home, my mother, sister, brother, uncle, grandfather, and children,” said Muhammad, 25, in tears as mourners gathered at the ruins of his home.
Muhammad, a labourer in Malaysia, had landed in Islamabad on August 15 to celebrate his wedding, planned two days later. Instead, he attended 24 funerals, including those of his mother, a brother, and a sister. His father and another brother survived because they were at the airport to receive him. His fiancée also survived, as her home was away from the worst-hit area.
Officials confirmed that this year’s monsoon, intensified by climate change, has brought record destruction across Pakistan. The National Disaster Management Authority reported 776 deaths nationwide since late June, with over 25,000 people rescued in the northwest. Many remain missing, and bodies are still being recovered.
In Buner, a single cloudburst dumped over 150 mm of rain in an hour, triggering unprecedented floods. Of the 28 family members living in Muhammad’s house, only four survived.
Local residents described the disaster as something never witnessed before. “This used to be a beautiful place, full of homes. Now, everything has been washed away,” said Muhammad Zeb, a villager.
Rescue operations continue with help from the army and air force, while authorities warn of more storms with two additional monsoon spells expected until September 10.
According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, over 330 people have died in nine northern KP districts, with Buner’s Pir Baba village alone accounting for nearly 200 fatalities.
In a total count of deaths, Pakistan floods leave 420 dead and thousands homeless
