Flash floods kill at least 113 in NW Pakistan, Kashmir

At least 113 people are reported dead and thousands more are homeless after flash floods triggered by torrential rains hit northwest Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir, officials said Thursday.

A man carries melons as he wades through a flooded street after heavy rains in Peshawar Reuters

The army has been called in to tackle the destruction wrought by the flood waters, with Swat and Malakand districts hit hardest.

Senior Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Bashir Ahmad Bilour told AFP he could confirm the deaths of 91 people during the last two days in different areas. Heavy rains swept away several bridges and disrupted communications in Swat, while more than 60 people were killed in Malakand.

"We are facing severe difficulties in the rescue work, as rain hampered helicopter flights," Bilour said.

The floods arrived as the country mourned the death of 152 people in a plane crash. The crash near Islamabad on Tuesday was also caused by bad weather.

Bilour said more than 30,000 people had been displaced in Peshawar alone.

Most of the dead were killed after houses collapsed on them or drowned in overflowing streams, according to provincial planning minister Rahim Dad. The military said it had sent boats to rescue stranded people and indicated that army engineers were attempting to open roads and divert the waters from main arteries.

Meteorological office chief Qamar Zaman predicted more rains over the next 24 hours as the monsoon continues, but with less intensity.

At least 22 people were also killed and more than 30 injured Thursday as dozens of houses collapsed under heavy rainfall in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, state premier Sardar Atique Ahmed told a late-night news conference.

Ahmed predicted the situation could worsen, with almost all the area's rivers swollen.

"We fear the floods this time will be worse than we saw in 1991," when around 150 people were killed in the region, the premier said.

The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan and
claimed by both.