A father and his son retrieve a washing machine from the mud of their house, partially destroyed by the sudden floods that struck the village of Pir Baba, in Buner district, northwestern Pakistan, on Sunday, August 17, 2025. MUHAMMAD SAJJAD / AP
It took only a few minutes for Pir Baba to be devastated on Friday, August 15, by torrents of water carrying rocks and boulders. The village lies in Buner district, in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northern Pakistan, near the Afghan border. Basit Khan, a 29-year-old government employee, lost 27 family members as they were preparing to celebrate a cousin’s wedding. “I suddenly heard loud rumbling and rushed to the roof, where I saw gray water gushing out,” he said. “I ran toward the mountains in the opposite direction and saved my life. Houses and buildings were swept away like bits of straw. The water carried huge rocks that completely flattened the houses.”
The village, which has counted more than 160 dead, may still conceal countless bodies. “There is not a single household untouched by this disaster,” said Asif Qazi, 52. “It’s as if Judgment Day has already come for us. We are burying the victims, one after another.”
The entire Buner district presented the same scene of desolation: damaged power lines, cars half-buried, straw and timber scattered everywhere. More than 12,000 people were left homeless, and at least 220 people lost their lives, with dozens more still trapped in the rubble. Rescuers continue to search for victims, aided by survivors.
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