GILGIT: Dozens of houses were damaged after heavy rainfall and ‘cloudburst’ triggered flash floods in multiple villages of Gilgit-Baltistan, severing road links and destroying agricultural land.
Flash floods caused damage in Tangir, the hometown of the Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister, Ghanche, and Gilgit’s Sikarkoi and Kundas villages.
Police said flash floods damaged public and private properties, including administrative offices, markets, power infrastructure, and communication systems in Tangir Valley. The water entered the local police station, destroying official records and equipment, and the residences of the police officers were also damaged.
Likewise, the offices of the assistant commissioner and additional deputy commissioner sustained heavy damage, while a residential house near the AC office completely collapsed in the flash flood.
Spokesperson says six people killed so far; Babusar Road remains blocked
In Ghanche district, more than 60 houses in various areas were damaged by the flash floods, which also washed away a bridge. The rise in water level in the Shyok River intensified erosion along the riverbank, whereas roads in the area remained blocked.
In the Chogo Grong area of Kondus in Ghanche, water damaged mosques, a school, a dispensary, roads, agricultural land, and livestock. Flash floods in the Sikarkoi and Kundas areas in Gilgit damaged several houses, shops, roads, and other infrastructure in multiple locations.
The flash flood also damaged motorcycles and cars parked outside houses. The floodwater affected several shops at Tangir Bazar and damaged the water channel of the Shekho powerhouse, which led to electricity outages.
According to GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq, over one hundred homes collapsed in Gilgit-Baltistan over the past few days, and six people have also died in flash floods this week. He said search and rescue operations were underway in Babusar Valley for missing tourists.
He said more than 300 stranded tourists had been rescued from Babusar and shifted to Gilgit, Skardu, and Chilas.
The Babusar Road remained closed to traffic on Thursday; but the Karakoram Highway remained open for light traffic.
Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2025
