CHITRAL: Rapid melting of Chiantar and other glaciers in Broghil Valley triggered a high flood in the Yarkhun River.
The flood swept away at least 20 houses and devastated large parts of Yarkhun Valley. It hit villages including Birzoz, Mahting, Miragram No. 2, Imit, and Bang.
Water destroyed maize, fodder, and vegetable crops. It wiped out apple orchards — the main income source for most residents. The river eroded hundreds of acres of farmland.
In Birzoz, the flood washed away a house just two weeks after construction. The owners had not yet moved in.
The disaster struck just as a bumper apple crop was ready for harvest. Floodwaters also destroyed several suspension bridges. Villages remain cut off from each other.