View of destruction due to landslide and flash flood caused by
heavy rains, in Salarzai Tehsil of KP’s Bajaur on Aug 15, 2025. — PPI Images

In pictures: Pakistan’s north reels from death, ruined infrastructure after calamitous floods

Flash floods claim over 300 lives and wreak destruction across KP, GB and AJK.
Published August 16, 2025

Flash floods caused by heavy rainfall and cloudbursts devastated the country’s northern areas on Friday, with over 300 lives lost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone so far.

The unprecedented floods also claimed at least 11 lives in Gilgit-Baltistan. The majority of casualties were in Ghizer district, where the deluge damaged agricultural land, crops and a vital bridge, cutting off the area’s 15,000 residents from the rest of the region.

Another nine people died across Azad Jammu and Kashmir, where infrastructure losses included two schools, 12 water mills, one main and four pedestrian bridges, six electricity poles, among others.

Rescue and army personnel have been engaged in rescue and relief operations since yesterday, as the country reels from yet another monsoon calamity.

 People struggle to retrieve a car from mud and debris after flash floods in the Buner district of the monsoon-hit KP on Aug 16, 2025. — AFP
People struggle to retrieve a car from mud and debris after flash floods in the Buner district of the monsoon-hit KP on Aug 16, 2025. — AFP

 People cross a nullah in flood with the help of ropes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur on Aug 15, 2025. — Anwarullah Khan
People cross a nullah in flood with the help of ropes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur on Aug 15, 2025. — Anwarullah Khan

 A flood-affected person sits as people gather around following flash floods in GB’s Ghizer on Aug 15, 2025. — Jamil Nagri
A flood-affected person sits as people gather around following flash floods in GB’s Ghizer on Aug 15, 2025. — Jamil Nagri

 Residents watch as rescue personnel remove the rocks in front of their houses a day after flash floods in the Buner district of the monsoon-hit KP on Aug 16, 2025. — AFP
Residents watch as rescue personnel remove the rocks in front of their houses a day after flash floods in the Buner district of the monsoon-hit KP on Aug 16, 2025. — AFP

 Onlookers gather near a destroyed bridge after flash floods on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP
Onlookers gather near a destroyed bridge after flash floods on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP

 Infrastructural damage caused by flooding in GB on Aug 16, 2025. — Jamil Nagri
Infrastructural damage caused by flooding in GB on Aug 16, 2025. — Jamil Nagri

 People walk past damaged vehicles and scattered debris after a road washed out following a flash flood in Mingora, the main city of Swat Valley, in monsoon-hit KP on Aug 16, 2025. — AFP
People walk past damaged vehicles and scattered debris after a road washed out following a flash flood in Mingora, the main city of Swat Valley, in monsoon-hit KP on Aug 16, 2025. — AFP

 People stand on a road washed away by flood water in KP’s Shangla on Aug 15, 2025. — Umar Bacha
People stand on a road washed away by flood water in KP’s Shangla on Aug 15, 2025. — Umar Bacha

 An overturned freight vehicle on the flood-affected Alpuri-Bisham Highway in KP’s Shangla on Aug 15, 2025. — APP
An overturned freight vehicle on the flood-affected Alpuri-Bisham Highway in KP’s Shangla on Aug 15, 2025. — APP

 A car was swept away in a flash flood in the Basian area of KP’s Mansehra on Aug 15, 2025. — PPI Images
A car was swept away in a flash flood in the Basian area of KP’s Mansehra on Aug 15, 2025. — PPI Images

 Rescue 1122 officials are busy in rescue operations after landslides and flash floods caused by heavy rains, in Salarzai Tehsil of KP’s Bajaur on Aug 15, 2025. — PPI Images
Rescue 1122 officials are busy in rescue operations after landslides and flash floods caused by heavy rains, in Salarzai Tehsil of KP’s Bajaur on Aug 15, 2025. — PPI Images

 Onlookers gather near a destroyed bridge after flash floods on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP
Onlookers gather near a destroyed bridge after flash floods on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP

 Mourners carry a coffin of a flood victim after flash floods in Naryean Behaak village, some 36 kilometres north of Muzaffarabad, AJK, on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP
Mourners carry a coffin of a flood victim after flash floods in Naryean Behaak village, some 36 kilometres north of Muzaffarabad, AJK, on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP

 Rescue operations are underway in the Khalti area of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Ghizer, on Aug 15, 2025. — Jamil Nagri
Rescue operations are underway in the Khalti area of Gilgit-Baltistan’s Ghizer, on Aug 15, 2025. — Jamil Nagri

 Mourners and locals offer funeral prayers for victims who died in incidents related to flash floods and monsoon rains in Salarzai Tehsil of KP’s Bajaur district on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP
Mourners and locals offer funeral prayers for victims who died in incidents related to flash floods and monsoon rains in Salarzai Tehsil of KP’s Bajaur district on Aug 15, 2025. — AFP


Header image: View of destruction due to landslide and flash flood caused by heavy rains, in Salarzai Tehsil of KP’s Bajaur on Aug 15, 2025. — PPI Images