QUETTA, Pakistan — Heavy monsoon rains killed at least 17 people in Pakistan and affected thousands more, officials said Friday.

Provincial home secretary, Akbar Durrani, told AFP that 15 people drowned in Barkhan district, in the southwest of the country, after a seasonal drain burst its banks late Wednesday.

Two more people drowned in the district of Sibi, Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed.

“Some 4,000 people have been affected as rain totally washed away 25 villages in Barkhan district,” Durrani said.

The flooding damaged powerlines, bridges and roads, cutting off communities and inundating thousands of acres of farmland, he said.

Durrani said that authorities were providing cooked meals to people affected by flooding.

The commissioner of Sibi district, Qamar Masood, told AFP that some 30 villages were flooded in Kohlu and Sibi area and an assessment of the damage was under way.

Pakistan’s Red Crescent Society has mobilised teams to provide food and healthcare to approximately 15,000 people for the next three months.

About 100 soldiers, four medical teams and three military helicopters carrying aid moved into affected areas on Friday, NDMA said.

The provincial disaster management authority said it was sending motorboats to evacuate people as further flooding could affect more villages.

Floods unleashed by torrential rains in south and southwestern Pakistan in 2007 claimed more than 200 lives and affected some 1.6 million people.