Flash flood sweeps away iconic hotel in Swat valley

SWAT, August 26: A number of hotels and restaurants have been destroyed in the Swat valley due to flash floods. In Kalam, a well-known hotel was completely swept and the scenes were recorded on a camera.
In a video that has gone viral, it could be seen that the iconic Honeymoon Hotel begins to crumble as water flow increases, and then the red multi-storey structure is washed away. In the video, people can be heard shouting, “Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,” as the building collapses within seconds.
The destruction of another multi-storey was also captured on camera. A number of local tourists have reportedly been stranded in Swat valley during flash floods. The provincial authorities are facing difficulty in rescuing affected families from hill stations of upper Swat.
The Khyber Pakhtun-khwa government has imposed an emergency in Swat after the scale of devastation caused by extreme flooding in the district grew out of control following record rains. The state of emergency will be in effect until August 30 for relief efforts in flood-affected areas of Swat, said a notification issued by the KP relief department. -SABAH