KEY POINTS
- Survivors face lasting trauma, anxiety, and deep psychological wounds.
- Doctors warn of untreated depression and PTSD risks.
- Mental health crisis looms as initial community support fades.
- Infectious diseases surge: diarrhoea, hepatitis, malaria, dengue spreading rapidly.
- 57 health facilities damaged; many Lady Health Workers displaced.
- Families squeezed into shelters, facing cold, hunger, and grief.
- Survivors demand tents, blankets, and faster compensation from authorities.
BUNER, Pakistan: On the morning of August 15, Muhammad Idrees, a 27-year-old soft-spoken schoolteacher from the quiet village of Beshonai—around 19 kilometres north of Daggar, the district headquarters of Buner—set out for class, unaware that within hours, his entire world would be swept away.
“I thought it was just rain,” he recalls. “But the water came like a monster—roaring, pulling, smashing everything.”
Caught in a powerful torrent of rocks, water, and mud, Idrees was dragged nearly four kilometres. “I thought I was going to die,” he says. “My body was torn, my mind blank. Then I saw a wooden log. I held on. That saved my life.”
When the floodwaters finally receded, Idrees was found barely conscious by locals. He spent four days bedridden in the district headquarters hospital. His wounds are healing, but what remains is far more painful.
“I can’t go back to my village. It doesn’t exist anymore. Where there were homes, now there are huge boulders. The stream runs above the village. I can’t even bear to look at it.”
Idrees lost eight members of his family in the floods—his father, mother, grandmother, two brothers, two uncles, and his maternal aunt.
I can’t go back to my village. It doesn’t exist anymore. Where there were homes, now there are huge boulders. The stream runs above the village. I can’t even bear to look at it.” – Muhammad Idrees, a flood survivor
In Beshonai village, 81 bodies have been recovered so far, while more than 40 houses were completely washed away. The number of injured remains unconfirmed.
Invisible wounds
As floodwaters slowly retreat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a different kind of emergency is rising—one that is not visible in broken roads or crumbled homes, but in the silent suffering of survivors.
Mental health professionals warn that the psychological impact of the floods could be devastating and long-lasting.
“We’re seeing widespread trauma, anxiety, numbness, deep sadness,” says Dr. Hammad Yousafzai, a psychiatrist who travelled from Swat to Buner with a volunteer team.
“Many people have lost everything—their homes, livelihoods, even family. Right now, they’re surrounded by others, but once that support fades, the real mental health crisis will begin.”
Dr Yousafzai says that survivors, especially children and women, are at high risk of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts if left untreated.
“We gave some psychological first aid. But what they truly need is shelter, stability, and long-term psychiatric care. Otherwise, we’re only postponing a mental health disaster.”
System unprepared
While the emotional toll rises, so do infections. Flood-hit regions are now grappling with a public health emergency.
“We are battling two crises—mental trauma and a wave of infectious diseases,” warns Dr. Taj Muhammad Khan, Medical Officer at the government-run District Headquarters Hospital in Daggar, Buner.
We’re seeing widespread trauma, anxiety, numbness, deep sadness.” – Dr. Hammad Yousafzai
“Diarrhoea, hepatitis, malaria, dengue—they’re all rising rapidly. Clean drinking water is scarce. Our health system is overwhelmed.”
On August 23 alone, over 5,100 new cases of different diseases were reported in flood-affected areas. Since the start of the disaster, more than 516,000 people have received treatment.
The health breakdown is staggering. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department reported that respiratory infections accounted for 3,668 cases, while scabies stood at 1,200 and eye infections at 1,224.
Waterborne illnesses, including cholera, hepatitis A and E, dysentery, and typhoid, were also reported in significant numbers. Vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue are rapidly increasing.
Other health concerns include snake bites, dog bites, skin infections, and tetanus in the flood-hit areas.
Meanwhile, over 57 health facilities have been partially or fully destroyed, and 28 Lady Health Workers have lost their homes.
Dr Khan remarks that during the floods, a dedicated rescue team was urgently needed at the district’s central hospital. While volunteers stepped in, hospitals had never faced such a crisis before and struggled to cope.
There was no space to accommodate the deceased, and damaged roads made the situation worse. He notes that emergency response teams in hospitals are not adequately trained for disasters of this scale.
He stresses that when there is a large-scale loss of life, a team of doctors should be dispatched immediately to confirm deaths at the site, helping to prevent overcrowding at hospitals.
We are battling two crises—mental trauma and a wave of infectious diseases.” – Dr. Taj Muhammad Khan
At the same time, he acknowledges that there was no shortage of medicines, as people voluntarily donated supplies in large quantities.
Homes washed away
Nisar Ali Khan, the head of Alkhidmat Foundation—a non-governmental organisation and the social welfare arm of Jamaat-i-Islami—in Buner, says that in Beshonai and beyond, many families are now squeezed into the homes of relatives or scattered in temporary shelters.
“Whole neighbourhoods have been erased. Children orphaned. Women widowed. These people don’t just need food and tents—they need healing.”
He warns of rising social tension and worsening psychological distress. “Winter is coming. People are tired. And the trauma—it’s growing. They are silent now, but inside, they are breaking.”
Beyond the numbers
Across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the flood damage is staggering. According to official data, as many as 411 people have died and over 860,000 have been affected in the province alone.
The destruction includes more than 4,000 homes, 60 schools, and dozens of roads and bridges. Nationwide, the toll has crossed 800 deaths, with over 25,000 people evacuated and 122,000 rescues carried out in 832 operations.
Whole neighbourhoods have been erased. Children orphaned. Women widowed. These people don’t just need food and tents—they need healing.” – Nisar Ali Khan, Alkhidmat Foundation
But numbers don’t tell the full story.
“The water is gone, but the pain remains,” says Idrees. “We didn’t just lose homes. We lost peace. We lost futures.”
Cold weather looms
Afsar Khan, the head of the Khudai Khidmatgar Organization and Bacha Khan Trust in Buner, informs WE News English that most families whose homes were destroyed in the floods are still without tents.
With cold weather approaching, he warns, people urgently need basic shelter—particularly tents, warm clothing, and blankets.
He voices frustration with the government, noting that although compensation cheques were announced, many victims have yet to cash them and remain in limbo.
Despite these challenges, Afsar Khan praises the support from political parties, NGOs, and individuals across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan.
Their generosity, he admits, has offered a measure of hope in an otherwise bleak situation.
Relief efforts underway
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur visited flood-affected areas, including Buner, where they provided financial aid and pledged full rehabilitation.
Gadezi Tehsil Chairman Sher Alam Khan tells WE News English that the government departments have distributed compensation cheques of 2 million rupees to families of the deceased and arranged ongoing medical treatment for survivors.
He adds that 26 acres of farmland were destroyed, including 16 acres completely washed away, while around 1,200 shopkeepers also suffered losses.
Machinery has been supplied to farmers, and data collection is in progress, with the Chief Minister promising full compensation.
Storm far from over
Doctors have urged the government to deploy mental health teams, provide counselling, and prioritise disease control and resettlement alongside reconstruction.
“If we rebuild only the walls, and not the people inside them—we’ve failed,” says Dr Taj.
“These are invisible wounds, and they run deep.”
In the villages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the sky is clear again. But for many, the storm has only just begun.
