Individuals scrabble amid wreckage following devastating cloudburst in Pakistan

Village of Dalori Devastated by Cloudburst in Pakistan

In the remote mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the village of Dalori has been left in ruins after a catastrophic cloudburst. The single road leading to the village was demolished at several points, and gravel was scattered across the settlement.

The disaster unfolded on a fateful day when local labourer, Lal Khan, witnessed a loud bang followed by dark smoke and a surge of water and rocks that destroyed the village. Around 20 villagers are still trapped under the debris.

In the narrow alleys, unattended cattle wandered freely amid the devastation. Fellow resident Gul Hazir recounted the incident, stating that not one but several cloudbursts from two sides of the village struck the remote valley. The water had no way to recede after the cloudburst struck at least 11 separate locations in the area.

The Edhi Foundation has been actively providing disaster relief assistance in the affected village, and despite the challenging conditions, excavators were working at several sites to remove debris that had clogged the drainage channels and blocked the flow of water.

Over the past few days, the villagers had been collecting money to help people in neighbouring flood-hit areas, but they too were overwhelmed by disaster and lost everything. Dalori has already held funerals for five victims, and women are mourning in darkened homes with no electricity since the disaster.

According to local administration official, Usman Khan, many houses in Dalori were built in the middle of the stream bed, worsening the scale of destruction. Authorities have warned of fresh flash floods in the coming days.

The incident was described as resembling an apocalyptic movie, with a massive amount of rocks and stones smashing into the houses before the water followed. Saqib Ghani, a student, was searching for relatives while trying to claw through the concrete with his bare hands. Khan recalled seeing his neighbour's hand sticking out of the rubble, where rescuers later retrieved her body along with those of her four children.

To date, more than 350 people have been killed across the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province due to heavy monsoon rains. Torrential rains in northern Pakistan since Thursday have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages, with around 200 people still missing.

Gul Hazir added that they didn't know they would be needing help themselves. At least 15 houses were destroyed, several others were damaged, and nine people were killed in the incident. The people of Dalori are still trying to recover from the disaster and rebuild their lives.