Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Announces Double Compensation for Flood Victims, Pledges 100% Restoration of Losses

Peshawar: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, has announced that compensation for flood-affected families will be doubled, assuring that the provincial government will cover 100% of the damages caused by recent torrential rains and floods.

In a video statement, the CM said that the cloudbursts and flash floods since August 15 severely affected multiple districts including Buner, Swat, Shangla, Bajaur, Mansehra, and Swabi. The disasters resulted in 406 deaths, 245 injuries, complete destruction of 664 houses, partial damage to 2,431 houses, and damage to 511 roads, 77 bridges, and 2,123 shops.

Rescue operations evacuated 5,566 people and recovered 430 bodies, with 2,061 personnel and 176 vehicles deployed in the affected areas. Relief activities followed, providing cooked meals to 119,000 individuals, dispatching 125 truckloads of aid, and establishing 70 medical camps.

The CM announced revised compensation rates: death compensation increased from Rs1 million to Rs2 million per victim, injury compensation raised from Rs250,000 to Rs500,000, and Rs1 million for fully destroyed houses and Rs300,000 for partially damaged ones. Shopkeepers will now receive Rs500,000 for destroyed shops and Rs100,000 for partially damaged ones. Losses to crops, orchards, and livestock will also be compensated.

So far, compensation of Rs654 million has been paid to heirs of 350 deceased victims, while Rs195 million has been disbursed to 18 injured persons. Payments totaling Rs665 million in food stamps, Rs790 million for damaged houses, and Rs280 million for shops have also been made. An additional Rs1 billion for shops and Rs1.3 billion for houses will be released soon.

To ensure transparency, a digital payment system has been introduced with a deadline of Sunday to complete all payments. Senior officers have been deployed for monitoring, while additional medical staff and mobile units have been sent to affected districts.

The CM further announced that cabinet members, MPAs, and government employees will donate their salaries to flood victims through a special PDMA account. So far, Rs6.5 billion has been released for relief and rehabilitation, with another Rs5 billion to follow.

Ali Amin Gandapur pledged that the government would not rest until the victims are fully rehabilitated: “We will rebuild every destroyed home and ensure 100% restoration of losses. The provincial government will also take full responsibility for children orphaned by this tragedy.”

He added that populations in high-risk areas would be relocated to safer zones to prevent future disasters, and expressed solidarity with Punjab flood victims, assuring full cooperation from KP.