Pakistan is once again reeling from the fury of its monsoon season. In the past 24 hours alone, torrential rains, flash floods and sudden cloudbursts have claimed at least 256 lives across the northern regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Many more remain missing in the remote, mountainous districts where landslides and washed-out roads have hampered rescue efforts.

Since late June, the country’s seasonal deluge has killed at least 507 people, as monsoon systems grow more unpredictable and intense. The rain shows little sign of relenting; forecasts suggest heavy downpours will continue across swathes of the country through the weekend.

The calamity has not spared those trying to help. On Friday, an MI-17 military helicopter, dispatched on a relief mission, crashed amid poor weather conditions, killing all five personnel on board. The incident underscores the dangers faced by emergency responders in the rugged terrain.

Though monsoons are an annual ordeal in Pakistan, the scale and frequency of recent disasters raise worrying questions about climate resilience, infrastructure and preparedness. For many, the rain brings not renewal, but ruin.