Floods Ravage Punjab as Over 1.5 million Affected, Authorities Warn of Rising Indus Threat
Floods Ravage Punjab as Over 1.5 million Affected, Authorities Warn of Rising Indus Threat
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At least 30 people have died and more than 1.5 million others have been affected as floodwaters from the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers submerged over 2,300 villages in Pakistan’s Punjab province this week.
The deluge, triggered by record monsoon rains and water releases from upstream India, has inundated vast tracts of Pakistan’s breadbasket province, crippling rescue operations and displacing hundreds of thousands, Arab News reported. Officials confirmed that nearly half a million people had been evacuated to safer ground, while millions more faced damaged homes, livestock losses and submerged farmland.
Authorities now warn that the floodwaters are moving south. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the Indus River at Guddu and Sukkur barrages is expected to reach “very high flood” levels between September 4 and 5, threatening Sindh.
Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed said in a PDMA statement that 2,308 villages were under water. “A total of 1.516 million people have been impacted while 481,000 trapped residents were rescued to safer places,” he added. The agency has established 511 relief camps, 351 medical centers and 321 veterinary camps, while more than 405,000 animals have been moved to higher ground.
The NDMA reported dispatching emergency food rations to worst-hit districts Sialkot and Narowal, with further relief convoys bound for Wazirabad, Hafizabad, Chiniot and Jhang.
Officials noted India’s Bhakra Dam is 84 percent full, Pong 94 percent and Thein 92 percent, fueling concerns of further cross-border water surges. Pakistan has long accused India of aggravating downstream flood risks in Punjab through uncoordinated water releases.
Since June 26, monsoon-related incidents have claimed more than 830 lives across Pakistan, according to NDMA data, with Punjab now facing its worst flooding in years.
