Pakistan: Poor internet, mobile connectivity hit people in flash flood-affected areas

They said they were unable to connect with their family members staying abroad.

According to the Shangla administration, the search operation for the missing seven people has been underway since the area was devastated by the raging floods on Aug 15, reported Dawn News.

The state administration said rehabilitation of roads, water supply schemes and bridges and relief activities are currently ongoing.

According to the Shangla deputy commissioner, Muhammad Fawad, 36 people lost their lives and 24 were injured in the area, while 74 roads and 16 bridges were damaged in the floods, reported the Pakistani newspaper.

Dayan Ghafar, a local activist from the affected Puran tehsil, told Dawn News that the mobile networks were down in the area and consumers had to dial the desired numbers persistently but in vain.

Heavy monsoon rains and flash floods have killed at least 739 people across Pakistan since late June, displacing thousands and destroying homes and crops, with more severe weather expected in the weeks ahead, according to UN agencies and national authorities.

The National Disaster Management Authority has also reported 978 injuries and the destruction or damage of more than 2,400 houses, while over 1,000 livestock have been lost as of Thursday, 21 August.

Severe weather is forecast to continue into early September, raising the risk of further flooding, landslides and crop losses, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hit hardest

The northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has borne the brunt of the disaster.

Authorities declared a state of emergency in nine districts, including Buner, Shangla and Mansehra, after torrential rains between 15 and 19 August left 368 people dead, 182 injured and damaged more than 1,300 homes. Nearly 100 schools were also destroyed.

The international charity CARE said its teams found widespread devastation in Buner, where families reported homes and livelihoods swept away within minutes by torrents of floodwater carrying boulders and debris.

Worrying trend

Pakistan has endured devastating monsoon seasons in recent years. In 2022, unprecedented floods killed more than 1,700 people, displaced millions, and caused an estimated $40 billion in economic losses.

Erratic and intensified rainfall patterns, amplified by climate change, are compounding the country’s vulnerability, threatening lives, livelihoods and long-term recovery across southern Asia.