Islamabad: Pakistani authorities announced that the death toll from the torrential monsoon rains hitting the country’s north since late June has risen to nearly 500, after 164 new fatalities were recorded in the past 24 hours.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the Disaster Management Authority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province reported that the mountainous region alone recorded 150 deaths, while nine fatalities occurred in the Pakistani-administered part of Kashmir, and five others in the northern tourist region of Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan experiences heavy monsoon rains annually, which cause significant human and material losses, particularly in mountainous and rural areas prone to floods and landslides.