20 dead as exceptionally high floods continue to wreak havoc in Punjab

Dykes breached, hundreds of settlements submerged as more rains likely to continue till Tuesday

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The exceptionally high level flood situation in the rivers of Punjab continues, amid forecast of more heavy rains in the province, while the floods have started moving towards Sindh.

Due to the floods, dykes have broken at many places and hundreds of settlements have been submerged. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority director general (PDMA DG), at least 20 people have died in various recent accidents due to the floods.

Floods have wreaked havoc in the province after India released water into the rivers of Punjab. Dykes have broken at several places, causing water to enter the settlements. Floodwaters in the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers flooded the surrounding villages, while the crops were also destroyed.

Thousands of people are forced to live in the open air in a state of disrepair and are facing a shortage of food and medicine. Three thousand people have been evacuated to safer places in thirty districts and seven hundred boats are involved in rescue operations.

Villages in many areas including Wazirabad, Kasur, Narowal, Hafizabad, Kamalia, Mandi Bahauddin, Bahawalnagar, Sialkot, Sargodha, Vehari and Pakpattan were surrounded by floods and land connectivity was cut off, while temporary dykes broke at many places. Meanwhile, due to the flood stream at Head Marala, the only road connecting Sialkot to 80 villages of Bajwat sector was destroyed. The chairlift installed in the area at a cost of Rs15 million in five years was also swept away in the water. The affected people say that three days have passed but no one has helped them, and the MNA belonging to their constituency came only for a photo session.

Hundreds of houses have been evacuated and residents have been shifted to safer places after the Ravi River water entered several housing societies located on Multan Road in Raiwind Tehsil.

Officials say flooding has been worsened in Punjab — home to half of Pakistan’s people and a major producer of wheat, rice and cotton — by the release of water into the three rivers, the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab, from Indian dams that were full.

The DG PDMA said that 1,769 areas in Punjab are still under water, while around 27,000 people have had to relocate.

Kathia said that the Pakistan Army, Punjab Rangers and rescue teams are engaged in relief operations, after water was suddenly released by India, without reporting it in a timely manner.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), rain with thunderstorm is likely in the federal capital from Friday (yesterday) to Tuesday.

Whereas from August 30 to 31, heavy rains and flooding situation is expected in the northern and north-eastern districts of Punjab including Rawalpindi, Attock, Jehlum, Chakwal, Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Narowal, Hafizabad and Mandi Bahauddin.

In central and southern Punjab, rains are expected from August 29 to 31, in which low-lying areas may be inundated. Heavy rains in Multan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Layyah, Bhakkar, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan may cause flash floods.

The NDMA has urged tourists to avoid traveling to northern areas due to possible rains and the risk of landslides.