Flash Floods Devastate Tourist Areas in Pakistan and India, Leaving Dozens Dead or Missing

Local residents look to the Swat River, which is overflowing due to pre-monsoon heavy rains in the area, on the outskirts of Mingora, the main town of Pakistan's Swat Valley, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Flash floods triggered by intense pre-monsoon rains swept through tourist regions in Pakistan and India on Friday, claiming at least 18 lives in Pakistan and three in India, with dozens still missing across both countries.

In northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, at least eight people were confirmed dead after floods swept away tourists picnicking along the Swat River. According to Shah Fahad, spokesperson for the provincial emergency service, nearly 100 rescue personnel managed to save 58 individuals, but 10 more remain missing. Only three members of an extended family of 16 could be rescued.

Dramatic videos circulating on social media showed several people stranded on a small, elevated spot in the middle of the Swat River, crying for help as the water level surged rapidly. Rescuers recovered eight bodies after hours-long search operations, and efforts to locate the missing continued late into the evening.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel recover a dead body, a day after torrential rains in the region caused a flash flood, near Dharamshala, India, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Fahad urged the public to comply with government warnings about flash flooding in the Swat Valley, a scenic region popular with tourists during both summer and winter months.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, rain-related incidents claimed 10 additional lives across the eastern Punjab and southern Sindh provinces over the past 24 hours. Authorities reported blocked highways, damaged homes, and widespread disruption due to the heavy rainfall.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the deaths and directed emergency services to bolster safety measures near rivers and streams. The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned that rainfall would continue throughout the week, although it is expected to be less intense than in 2022, when catastrophic monsoon flooding submerged one-third of the country and killed 1,739 people.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel recover a dead body, a day after torrential rains in the region caused a flash flood, near Dharamshala, India, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo)ASSOCIATED PRESS

Meanwhile, in northern India’s Himachal Pradesh state, torrential rains triggered flash floods in Kangra district, killing three people and leaving at least a dozen more feared missing. Local government spokesperson Dinesh Sharma confirmed a rescue operation was underway to locate the missing, many of whom were workers resting in a temporary shelter near a hydroelectric power project.

Sudhir Sharma, a local lawmaker, reported that 15 to 20 workers were swept away when water levels in a nearby reservoir suddenly rose late Wednesday. The state government said eight people were missing in Kangra and three more in the nearby Kullu district. Approximately 50 stranded tourists have been evacuated to safety.

Flash floods and cloudbursts are increasingly common in India’s Himalayan states during the monsoon season. Environmentalists continue to raise concerns about deforestation and unregulated infrastructure expansion, particularly around hydroelectric projects, calling for urgent reforms to improve disaster preparedness and environmental accountability.