ISLAMABAD: Thirteen people, including 11 family members, have died in the past 24 hours in rains in northwestern Pakistan, the provincial disaster management authority said on Tuesday, as the province was hit by heavy monsoon rains.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Monday warned that strong monsoon currents from the Bay of Bengal could trigger heavy rainfall and flooding in Punjab, Azad Kashmir, Sindh and the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

“Due to accidents caused by the recent rains, 13 people have died and six people have been injured in the past 24 hours,” a PDMA KP spokesperson said in the authority’s daily situation report on Tuesday, adding that of these, “eleven members of the same family have died due to the heavy rains in Kohat district.”

According to emergency services, the family members drowned when water flooded the basement of their home.

The report said two men, four women and seven children were among the 13 casualties, while the six injured included one man, two women and three children. The disaster management authority said a total of 16 houses were damaged by winds and heavy rains over the past 24 hours, with 15 partially damaged and one completely destroyed.

The report highlighted that Kohat, Bajaur, Lower and Upper Chitral, Upper Dir, Swat and Swabi districts suffered financial losses due to the torrential rains. The report said that roads in these areas were also closed for traffic.

“PDMA, district administrations and relief teams are conducting relief activities in the affected areas,” the spokesperson said.

The PDMA also instructed district administrators to provide immediate financial support to all victims. The authorities and district administrators were in close contact with them.

Flash floods also washed away the main Mahandri Bridge in Kaghan, disrupting traffic to Gilgit-Baltistan via Babusar Pass. Roads and infrastructure throughout Kaghan and surrounding areas were also damaged and a major fibre optic cable was severed, causing more than four hours of disruption to internet and other telecommunication services in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed the NDMA to take urgent measures to ensure public safety amid torrential rains in many parts of Pakistan.