Pakistan defends flood response after over 270 people are killed in northwestern district

Torrential rains triggered more flash floods in two villages in the Kathua district of Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least seven people and injuring five others overnight, officials said Sunday

Torrential rains triggered more flash floods in two villages in the Kathua district of Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least seven people and injuring five others overnight, officials said Sunday.

In Kishtwar district, teams are continuing their efforts in the remote village of Chositi, looking for dozens of missing people after the area was hit by flash floods last week during an annual Hindu pilgrimage. At least 60 people were killed, and some 150 injured. Over 300 others were rescued.

In Pakistan, authorities on Sunday defended their response to climate-induced flash floods that killed more than 270 people in a single northwestern district.

Mohammad Suhail, a spokesman for the emergency service, said 54 bodies were found in Buner, a mountainous part in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where torrential rains and cloudbursts triggered massive flooding on Friday.

People arrange cots with victims' bodies as they prepare for their funeral following heavy rain and floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, on Saturday.ReutersSuhail said villagers remain missing, and search efforts are focused on areas where homes were flattened by torrents of water that swept down from the mountains, carrying boulders that smashed into houses like explosions.