Cloudburst Floods Paralyze Ghizer and Hunza in Gilgit‑Baltistan

In the early hours of Saturday, a fierce cloudburst rolled over the high valleys of Gilgit‑Baltistan, turning sleepy hamlets into water‑logged scenes straight out of a disaster film.

The deluge slammed into Ghizer district first, flooding the narrow lanes of Naubahar village and leaving the Gushgush Jamaat Khana soaked to the rafters. Homes that had stood for generations were now drenched, while orchards and fields of wheat and apricots lost much of their yield.

Roads? Almost a different story. The flash flood ripped a swathe through the Immit‑to‑Barjangle route, and the legendary Karakoram Highway (KKH) from Sost up to the Khunjerab Pass was forced to close after landslides hurled boulders onto the pavement. The tourism police managed to clear the stretch between Murtazaabad and Hassanabad in Hunza, but the rest of the highway remains impassable.

Electricity lines weren’t spared either – twisted poles and snapped cables left several villages in the dark. Residents, cut off from nearby towns, gathered at makeshift checkpoints, pleading for emergency aid and a quick reopening of the blocked road.

While rain has been a regular companion since early August, locals like Waseem Baigal say they’ve never seen anything like this. “It was thunder, hail and rain all at once. I’ve never felt the ground shake like this,” he told Dawn, his voice trembling with the memory.

At the same time, the weather showed a strange duality: temperatures dropped across the region, and Babusar Top recorded its first snowfall of the season. Yet the snow did little to calm the anxiety of farmers who fear another wave of floods once the meltwater joins the swollen streams.

The GB Disaster Management Authority reports that from June to August, the area suffered more than a hundred flood events triggered by cloudbursts and rapid glacier melt. That tally includes glacial lake outburst floods and landslides that have become disturbingly common.

Scientists point to a shifting climate as the underlying cause. “Glaciers are retreating, lakes are expanding, and extreme precipitation is becoming the new normal,” says a local climate expert. For communities living among over 8,000 glaciers and 300 glacial lakes, the stakes are nothing short of existential.

Ali Ahmed, a farmer from Ghizer, recalls how summers used to end with a gentle chill, signaling the end of flash‑flood risk. “Now the rains come early, and the ice still clings to the peaks, but the water rushes down faster,” he observes. Safdar Ali adds that the fear is palpable; “We’re on the front line of climate change, and every storm feels like a warning.”

Authorities have urged tourists to postpone non‑essential travel on the KKH until the situation stabilises. Meanwhile, rescue crews, backed by the military and local volunteers, continue to clear debris, restore power and distribute relief kits to those who lost everything in the sudden surge.