The Punjab government has evacuated over 400,000 people as floodwaters from the Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab rivers continue to surge across the province’s central and eastern districts, triggering one of the province’s biggest rescue and relief operations in decades.
According to Provincial Disaster Management Authority Chairman Irfan Ali Khan, 20 people have died due to the prevailing situation, the majority due to drowning. Addressing media on Friday morning, he said the government had announced Rs. 1 million in compensation to the families of the victims.
Khan said the worst-hit district with regards to casualties was Gujranwala division. However, he stressed, authorities had ensured no stranded individuals were abandoned. In addition to boats, he said, helicopters were also being used to evacuated anyone left trapped by floodwaters.
He said the floodwaters raging through Punjab would pass Rahim Yar Khan in another three days before entering Sindh province. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), he said, had informed the Sindh government of the situation and the province was already preparing to tackle it.
Rescue efforts
Overall, per the Punjab government, the floods have affected nearly 1.5 million people across the province. Villages in Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar, Vehari, Chiniot, Hafizabad, Gujranwala and Jhang are among the hardest hit. Discharge peaks at key headworks led to extensive inundation of 1,400–1,600 villages, with the PDMA saying it has established 255 relief camps, 265 medical camps and 214 veterinary posts. Livestock are being evacuated as well to protect rural livelihoods.
Rescue efforts are jointly underway by Rescue 1122, the Army and district administrations. Early on Friday, the floods in the Ravi entered five housing societies established near its banks though timely warnings and evacuations ensured no loss of life. According to locals, the localities affected are Shafiqabad, Farrakhabad and Tallat Park near Shahdara bridge and Theme Park and Park View.
Authorities said the Ravi was currently flowing at around 220,000 cusecs against the designed capacity of 250,000 cusecs, noting this should decline in the coming days so long as there is no fresh discharge from India. According to the NDMA, Jassar at Ravi remains in medium flood; Shahdara at extremely high flood; Balloki at high flood; Marala at Chenab in low flood; Khanki at medium flood; and Abad at high flood; Ganda Singh Wala at Sutlej at extremely high flood; and Sulemani at medium flood.
Locals have also joined responders in ensuring the safety of residents at-risk from the floods.
Climate emergency
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas on Thursday and received a briefing from NDMA Chairman Lt. Gen. Inam Haider. Both leaders have described the crisis as a “climate-driven emergency,” pointing to extreme monsoon rains coupled with massive releases from Indian reservoirs as contributing to the surge in rivers.
They have emphasized the need to build new reservoirs to cope with future crises, adding the time has come to evolve national consensus to protect lives and livelihoods.
While officials have stressed that timely warnings enabled the protection of lives, they acknowledge that the floods have devastated crops and damaged thousands of homes.