LASWA VALLEY, Pakistan: Once a small cluster of houses stood along a gentle stream in Pakistani Kashmir. Now only jagged rocks and a few damaged homes remain after torrential rains wreaked havoc on the picturesque mountain village in the Laswa Valley.
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More than 270 people have been killed in recent days across South Asia as monsoon rains deluged large swathes of the subcontinent, flooding waterways and destroying communities.
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On Sunday evening, the normally quiet stream running through the valley morphed into a raging current – uprooting everything in its path.
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Twenty-three people are missing, presumed dead by officials.
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Seven others were injured, while 150 houses and businesses were destroyed and about 50 buildings damaged in the seven hamlets spread across Laswa.
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“I was holding the hand of my mother trying to save her, but unfortunately I lost her hand and she was swept away by the floodwater,” says Amin Butt, who was visiting his family in Kashmir.
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“Within a minute my entire world was gone, my mother was gone and my home,” Butt said, his eyes misting over.
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“We have nothing left here now except for the stones.”
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Hard rain
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Kashmir has been divided since the end of British colonial rule in 1947 and both New Delhi and Islamabad claim the former Himalayan kingdom in full.
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Located just a few kilometres north of the Line of Control – the heavily militarised de-facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan territory – Laswa has been frequently shelled during bouts of fighting between Pakistan and India.
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But in recent years it had been largely spared despite increasing tensions.
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On Sunday, the tragedy brought by the floods reminded residents of the horrors of war from the past.
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Shahnawaz Butt lost his wife and three of his six children in the disaster.
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“I was unable to see their faces again because their bodies were not found,” he sighs.
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“I would like to appeal to whoever hears my voice, to provide us with the basic necessities of life like electricity and water,” he pleads.
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Several residents interviewed by AFP criticised the slow response by officials, saying supplies arrived slowly by the single road that enters the valley rather than being flown in.
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White tents provided by the Pakistani army now stand in place of the homes that resided there just days ago, where survivors receive condolences from their neighbors.
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Raging from June to September, the monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing vital water sources across the subcontinent that approximately one-fifth of the global population depends on.
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But the yearly rains often turn deadly, as floods wash away communities and destroy farmland.
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