Flash floods in Pakistan: Widespread destruction reported; at least 49 killed in north-west

Flash floods caused by heavy rains have killed at least 49 people in north-western Pakistan and other parts of the country in the past 24 hours, officials said on Friday. Since 26 June, more than 360 people, mostly women and children, have died in rain-related incidents across Pakistan. Most of the latest casualties were reported in the northern and north-western regions. In Ghazar district of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan, at least 10 people died on Thursday after being swept away by flash floods. Another 16 people, including women and children, died the same day in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after a massive cloudburst triggered flooding. Battagram district in the north-west also reported 10 deaths from flash floods, with 18 people still missing. In Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, seven more people were killed in separate rain-related incidents on Thursday. Pak-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan has faced repeated flooding since July, with landslides blocking the Karakoram Highway. Authorities have also warned of possible glacial lake outburst floods in the north.