LAHORE:
Punjab is dealing with severe floods such as relentless monsoon rains and water releases from India, boost the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers at dangerous levels, which causes mass evacuations, emergency financing and the deployment of army units for rescue operations.
The Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) confirmed on Wednesday that high flood floods were being registered in the main rivers. Water inlets continue to increase, putting the low districts with a serious risk.
The general director of the PDMA, Irfan Ali Kathia, warned that a flow of 150,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) was expected to pass through Shahdara, while Kot Naina in the Ravi was experiencing a flow of 230,000 cusecs. In Jassar, a flow of more than 229,000 Cusecs was reported.
The Government has approved emergency funds for districts affected by floods and ordered immediate evacuations throughout the Ravi embankments.
The army, the rangers, the 1122 rescue and the police have been mobilized to support the evacuations, deliver food and medicines, and patrol vulnerable rural areas.
In Nanowal, the waters of the floods entered the Kartarpur corridor, while in Shakargarh, a violation in a protective embankment submerged several agreements, forcing mass relocations.
Extremely high flood levels were recorded on the Ravi River in Kot Naina, Jassar and Shahdara, raising significant risks for neighborhoods and low roads near the town in Lahore.
In the Sutlej River, the flows in Ganda Singh Wala increased between 196,000 and 245,000 Cusecs, flooding dozens of villages in Kasur, Pakpattan and Bahawalnagar. The authorities confirmed that more than 4,000 residents had been evacuated.
The Chenab River carried some of the heaviest volumes seen in recent years. In the head Qadirabad, the water levels reached 935,000 CUSEC, exceeding the design capacity of the alluvion of 800,000 Cusec.
To protect the structure, the engineers deliberately violated protective dikes in Mandi Bahauddin and Ali Pur Chatha. They were recorded upstream in the head Marala, flows of almost 700,000 cusecs were recorded. The sudden floods extended through smaller tributaries like Nullah Dek in Sialkot, destroying bridges and cutting access from the road to several cities.
The provincial government announced RS2.18 billion in emergency aid funds.
