BUNER: More than a year after devastating floods claimed the lives of 24 members of his family, Omar Khan now resides in a newly constructed home in Pakistan’s Buner district. Built with assistance from various organizations, the house stands safely removed from the site of his family’s former compound, which was obliterated by the disaster. Despite having a roof over his head, the memory of that tragic day and the fear of future flooding continue to weigh heavily on him.
Buner emerged as the hardest-hit district during the 2025 monsoon floods, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The provincial disaster authority reported 256 fatalities in the region.
The catastrophe unfolded on August 15, when approximately 150 millimeters of rainfall battered the area within just one hour. This intense precipitation triggered a violent surge of water, mud, and boulders cascading down mountain slopes and barreling through local communities, leaving residents little time to flee.
This regional tragedy echoed the nationwide floods of 2022, which impacted 33 million people and resulted in over 1,730 deaths, primarily affecting the southern province of Sindh. However, unlike the widespread riverine flooding seen in 2022, Buner’s calamity was a sudden flash flood that tore through the steep terrains of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2025. Both disasters underscored the vulnerability of communities when extreme weather events overwhelm infrastructure and early warning systems.
“My uncle provided us with land,” Khan explained to Arab News. “The foundation then constructed a house for us.”
Khan noted that his new residence includes 30 rooms, a significant reduction from the 50-room family compound they once inhabited. The structure was partially funded by multiple organizations—the Sir Rahim Shah Akhunkhail Foundation built eight rooms, Al Khidmat Foundation contributed two, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), a religious political party, sponsored the remaining two rooms.
On the fateful day of the deluge, Khan had traveled to his shop at Pir Baba bazaar after saying goodbye to his youngest daughter that morning. While en route home, his wife contacted him as he was still hundreds of meters away.
“I asked her, ‘Is everything alright at home?’ She replied that everything was fine,” he recalled. “But upon arrival, there was nothing left—not even a trace of our home or water, just boulders scattered everywhere.”
The family compound had been a gathering place for Khan, his brothers, and their families. Among the 24 relatives who perished were his parents, his wife, and two young children: a three-year-old daughter and a three-and-a-half-month-old son.
“They were found clinging to each other beneath a tree,” Khan said emotionally. “Even in death, she held her son close.”
“THERE’S NO ONE HERE“
Across Buner, the provincial disaster authority documented widespread destruction: 273 homes completely flattened, 1,319 homes severely damaged, and 240 commercial establishments affected. Sher Khan, Omar’s brother and fellow survivor, recounted how the flood disrupted one of the happiest moments in his life—as his family was preparing for his son’s wedding.
“The flood struck on Friday, and by Saturday, it was supposed to be my son’s wedding,” Sher said. “Now we’ve abandoned this place entirely—we don’t live here anymore. There is no one here.”
A World Bank assessment covering 1,207 households across Buner and two other heavily impacted districts—Shangla and Swat—revealed that 85% of respondents received no advance warning before the floods struck. The report highlighted that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s disaster preparedness strategies had predominantly focused on managing river floods, leaving critical gaps in detecting and responding to flash floods in mountainous valleys.
Zainab Naeem, a climate change analyst at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, emphasized shifting rainfall patterns contributing to heightened risks. She also voiced concerns regarding unchecked deforestation and unregulated marble extraction destabilizing mountain slopes, although the precise impact of these activities on the scale of the flood remains unverified.
“During extreme weather phenomena like cloudbursts, vegetation-deprived soil loses its stability, leading to catastrophic consequences such as debris flows, boulder displacement, and sudden surges of water,” Naeem explained.
Bilal Baseer, the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Buner, stated that government efforts included clearing clogged waterways and initiating afforestation programs. He added that nonprofit organizations were working on establishing an early warning system, though it had not yet become fully operational.
The provincial government announced compensation packages: PKR 2 million ($7,200) for every fatality and PKR 1 million ($3,600) for each destroyed household.
Anwar Shehzad, spokesperson for the disaster authority, confirmed that payouts had been processed in approximately 90% of eligible cases, with delays occurring mainly due to challenges in identifying rightful beneficiaries when multiple family members lost their lives. Sher Khan expressed frustration over delayed compensation for his own family.
While Khan now enjoys secure housing far from where generations of his ancestors once lived, he harbors deep skepticism about whether adequate warnings will be issued before future floods strike.
“We live under the constant shadow of fear,” he lamented. “We are reconstructing our homes and trying to restart our lives, but the haunting memories of our departed loved ones and the dread of another flood still linger in this valley.”
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