Monsoon rains pile misery

In 2022, nearly 30 illegally built hotels along the Swat River were swept away, and another 50 were damaged when floodwaters tore through Bahrain and Kalam.

A recent provincial probe found encroachments spread over more than 1,800 kanals (91 hectares) of riverine land in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 127 illegal buildings sealed and hundreds of structures demolished to clear waterways. In Swat alone, authorities reported removing dozens of obstructions from the flood plain.

Beyond the statistics and studies, it is the lived reality of locals that tells the truest story of these disasters. Nowhere is this cycle of devastation more evident than in Buner, where residents like Muhibur Rasheed are living through its worst consequences.

He described the disaster as "the biggest and worst calamity" in the history of the district. Rasheed shared that more than half of the district's main marketplace had been submerged, resulting in losses worth billions of rupees. Entire villages were "gulped down by the floods", leaving devastation in their wake.

"In every household, four to five people were swept away in the flash floods," Rasheed recounted on a phone call with Dawn.com, his voice heavy with grief. "There are some families that have been completely wiped out. In one village, a funeral for 40 members of a single family was offered collectively.

"There is a shortage of medicines, food, and other essentials, but the roads are blocked, and there are no mobile phone signals," he added.

Dawn, Pakistan