Lahore:
Residents encrypted to the roof or wooden tops for security, while authorities declared emergencies after inflated rivers violated banks in several districts in South Punjab, which flooded hundreds of villages over large shards, especially in the Chenab basin, officials said on Monday.
Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab Rivers remained in “very high flood” in several places. It added that water would enter the Indus River at night between Monday and Tuesday.
According to officials, furious rivers violations in Jalalpur Pirwala, which flood dozens of villages and forced authorities to declare emergencies in Jalalpur and Shujaabad. Later, officials ordered a full evacuation from Town Jalalpur Pirwala in fear that Chenab could blow through the protective lives.
They said another wave of flood in Chenab flooded more than 300 villages in the Jhang district, while major violations in Muzaffarhs Azmatpur forced over 7,000 people to flee their homes. Further downstream overwhelmed Sutlej defense near Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar.
A high-level flood in the Sutlej River performed destruction in the Vehari district as water shrouded more than 185 villages and 90 settlements. According to the irrigation department, the infringement of a dam in the Akbar Shah area in LFAs immersed more than 1,500 houses.
The district administration said that more than 75,000 people and thousands of hectares of standing crops had been affected by the flood. Elsewhere, Kasur saw 130 villages immersed, which affected more than 100,000 inhabitants. In Chiniot, more than 100 villages lost road access after dams failed.
According to data released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), more than 4,000 rescue operations had been performed so far, with 2.4 million people being brought to safety. Rescue teams further inserted boats and drones to monitor the flooding situation.
According to PDMA, the Chenab basin has been the hardest hit, with approx. 1,578 villages and more than 1.65 million people affected. Authorities said 36 people have died in Chenab-related floods, while five deaths were reported along Ravi. Overall, Punjab’s death is 244 since June.
Nationwide, NDMA said 922 people have died in this monsoon season, including 12 in the last 24 hours. Seven of them were reported in Multan, where flash floods swept through rural areas, according to provincial authorities.
On Monday, the Chenab Flowers surpassed 543,000 CUSERCS at the main trimmu – one of the highest levels in recent years. Sutlej emissions reached 319,000 CuseCs at Ganda Singh Wala, while Ravi rose to 139,000 CUSERCS at HEAD BALLOKI.
Officials reported rising water levels at various dams, adding that inflow and outflows exceeded 600,000 CUSERCS by the head Punjnad – before the flood water is drained into the river Indus. PDMA -Chef Irfan Kathia confirmed that the flooding water was set to enter the Indus River late at night.
Kathia said Multan due to new influxes from the main trimmu would remain at high risk for the next 48 hours. “Water pressure at the head Muhammadwala and Shershah dams are expected to rise over the next 24 hours,” he added.
Officials at Sindh said that Indus is currently experiencing low-level floods at Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barriers. Authorities instructed district administrations to remain vigilant and accelerate protective measures against possible threats.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Center Center (NEOC) from NDMA issued an urgent weather counseling that warned of heavy rain across parts of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan over the next 12 to 24 hours.
Neoc warned of flooding of cities, flooding streams and landslides in hilly areas due to rainfall. It predicts intermittent rainfall in the northeastern and southern districts of Punjab, including Gujranwala, Sialkot, Lahore, Hafizabad, Faisalabad, Chiniot and Sargodha.
Tongue and thunderous rainstorms are expected in Multan, Layyah, Khanewal, Vehari, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Khanpur, Rajanpur, Liaqatpur, Zahir Pir, Sadiqabad and Rahim Yar Khan.
In Sindh, southern districts are likely to experience heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds affecting Thatta, Badin, Tharparkar, Mithi, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Adam, Hyderabad, Karachi and Surrounding Areas.
Lights, intermittent showers are expected for upper and central SINDH, including SUKKUR, Larkana, Shaheed Benazirabad, Khairpur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Jamshoro and Nearby Localities. In Balochistan, Zhob, Loralai, Sibi, Dera Bugti, Sui, Khuzdar, Awaran, Barkhan and Lasbela are expected to receive intermittent showers with thunderstorms.
(With input from app)
