At least 32 people killed as flash floods hit northern Pakistan | Pakistan

Apparently, at least 32 people were killed in Pakistan in the last flash flood caused by heavy rains, including a tourist family who died after being sweeping by flood waters while waiting to save.

The videos of the family trapped in a small soil for sweeping the angry Swat River in the north of Pakistan were extensively shared on social media by creating anger for the state government for saying that the witnesses were waiting desperately for more than an hour.

Flash floods and heavy rains have killed 32 people in the last 36 hours, including 16 children in Pakistan; 13 from Punjab state and Northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the 19th tourist family died.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who came to power in the state of Pakhtunkhwa, said that they had suspended four senior officials from the Swat administration and emergency rescue department, the central information secretary of the Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI) party.

Akram said that Prime Minister Ali Amin Gandapur ordered an investigation and asked the report to be sent within a week in the documents seen by Guardian.

“Province [held] A meeting on the flash floods on June 21, Akram said to Akram Guardian. To spread awareness and ask tourists to be away from the river coast and never step into the river bed. At least 71 people were reserved in the cases that violate warnings. ”

“It was a tragic and unfortunate event, and tourists were in the river bed.”

When the flash flood occurred, the family from the state of Punjab was having a picnic breakfast by the river in the Swat area of ​​Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Government officials said the family went to the river to save children taking photos.

According to Akram, at least 17 people were swept in the flash floods on the Swat River – the bodies of nine family members recovered and one was missing. While three were still missing, four people were rescued. He said that the rescue efforts were continuing.

The Provincial Disaster Management Institution (PDMA) later issued a warning that warned people to take high flood levels and to take measures.

Pakistan, which has a population of more than 240 million, is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world for the effects of the climate crisis. In 2022, it caused climatic flash floods, killed at least 1,700 people and affected more than 33 million people. The incident started to argue in Pakistan In the climate crisis, the role of state governments in preventing such events avoid warnings and claims of inadequacy and corruption in local government.

Former Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said that tourists in Pakistan did not respond to the colonial instructions such as 144, which now allow regional administrations to prohibit activities and did not pay attention to excessive air warnings.

Rehman criticized the poor government, which stated the climate crisis and the lack of coordinated efforts: “Public sources also remained in this tragedy for a very short time. PDMA should have mobilized a helicopter to reach the burgundy family in time.

Many social media users criticized the government for not being able to save the land. Witness Accounts He said they were stuck for more than an hour without help.

The PDMAs were created after the deadly 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, ruled by Pakistan, and responsible for responding to natural disasters, floods and disasters in time. Disaster officials in different Pakistani states are accused of corruption.