ISLAMABAD: Cloudbursts are causing chaos in mountainous parts of India and Pakistan, with tremendous amounts of rain falling in a short period of time over a concentrated area. The instense, sudden deluges have proven fatal in both countries.

Gul Rasheed, 60, inspects a damaged car following a storm that caused heavy rains and flooding, in Bayshonai Kalay, Buner district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, August 17, 2025. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

According to experts, casually labeling every episode of intense monsoon rain as a cloudburst not only spreads unnecessary fear but also undermines the seriousness of genuine warnings. Officials stress that a cloudburst is a rare and scientifically defined phenomenon,

In the middle of the night, by the glow of their mobile phones, rescuers and villagers dug through the concrete remains of flattened houses after massive rocks crashed down on a remote Pakistani village following a cloudburst.

Ongoing heavy rains and flooding have claimed 43 more lives in Pakistan in just 24 hours, raising the death toll since Aug. 14 to 437, the national and provincial disaster management authorities said Wednesday.

Pakistan has restored 70 per cent of its electricity supply and reopened key roads in the northern and northwestern regions, following flash floods that claimed the lives of over 300 people.

ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) warned against more rains and cloudburst incidents in northern parts of Pakistan as death toll during the current monsoon season reached 657 while 929 injured in various incidents across country.