At least twenty houses were severely damaged, while crops were destroyed and trees were uprooted due to floods in Deral Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan’s (GB) Diamer district, authorities said on Friday.

Since late July, monsoon rains have wreaked havoc across the country, especially in its northern regions like GB, by triggering deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas.

The assistant commissioner of Deral, Waseem Abbas, told Dawn.com that he flood occurred at 6am on Friday due to heavy rains, which engulfed the Gamari area.

“As a result of the floods, twenty houses were damaged, of which five were completely demolished,” he said. “In addition, crops and trees were also damaged.“

According to locals, many people fled when the flood hit, with dozens moving to safer places. They added that the water channel system was also severely affected by the flood, with damage to cattle sheds and livestock.

The National Disaster Management Authority has instructed citizens not to go near drains and stay in hotels during the rain.

GB government spokesperson Faizullah Faraq told Dawn.com that timely information was received from the villagers, which saved dozens of lives.

“On the instructions of the chief minister Haji Gulbar Khan, relief teams have been sent to Deral,” Faraq added. “The Deral administration has also been directed to visit the flood-affected areas and start relief and rehabilitation work on an emergency basis. Rescue and disaster management teams have also been sent.”

On Sunday, the Pakis­tan Meteo­rological Depar­tment issued a high-priority alert for Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (Glofs) in the northern regions and warned of urban flooding in the country’s upper parts.

Last month, it was reported that hundreds of people in GB had fallen victim to water-borne diseases owing to a severe shortage of clean drinking water following devastating floods in the region.