Pakistan flash floods kill 32; Thai PM visits flood-hit regions

Pakistan flash floods kill 32; Thai PM visits flood-hit regions
by AFP Staff Writers
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) June 28, 2025

Heavy rain and flash flooding across Pakistan have killed 32 people including 16 children since the start of the monsoon season this week, disaster management officials said.

Flash floods and roof collapses over the past 36 hours have claimed the lives of 19 people, eight of them children, a statement Saturday by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial disaster management authority said.

Of the total fatalities, 13 were reported from northwestern Swat Valley.

At least 13 people have also been killed in the eastern province of Punjab since Wednesday, the area's disaster management authority said.

Eight of the fatalities were children, who died when walls and roofs collapsed during heavy rain.

Flooding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also damaged 56 houses, six of which were destroyed, the disaster authority said.

The national meteorological service warned that the risk of heavy rain and possible flash floods will remain high until at least Tuesday.

Last month, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms in the South Asian nation, which experienced several extreme weather events in the spring, including strong hailstorms.

Pakistan is one of the world's most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change, and its 240 million inhabitants are facing extreme weather events with increasing frequency.

Thai PM visits flood-hit region as 3,700 homes inundated
Bangkok (AFP) June 28, 2025 - Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra made an emergency visit on Saturday to the country's flood-hit north, where the military is evacuating residents after monsoon rains inundated thousands of homes.

The Royal Thai Army says more than 3,700 homes were flooded across five districts in Chiang Rai province, alongside 80 hectares (200 acres) of agricultural land, with roads made impassable in three areas.

Heavy rains are forecast to continue in the coming days, while the military has deployed rafts to ferry residents from their homes engulfed by muddy brown water, according to images shared on their Facebook page.

Paetongtarn made a one-day trip to inspect damage in the hardest-hit area of Phaya Mengrai district, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Laos border.

"The prime minister met with flood-hit communities and asked about their well-being, including access to food, clean water, and care for vulnerable groups," the government said in a statement.

Paetongtarn made the visit as she faces mounting pressure in the capital Bangkok, where protesters gathered on Saturday to call for her resignation over a leaked diplomatic phone call.

It remains unclear how many people have been impacted by the flooding. However the military said more than 4,400 households had been affected.

Thailand's disaster prevention agency said it is closely monitoring water levels and urged communities to move belongings to higher ground in case of flash flooding.

While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains in the third quarter of the year, man-made climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that make destructive floods more likely.

Widespread flooding across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.