LAHORE:
Weeks after the flood hit for the first time, the villages in Jalalpur Pirwala, a fine district, are still abandoned by floods. Hundreds of houses have collapsed in rubble, while thousands of crops acres are ruined. The wheat and rice fields are rotting, the mud houses have crumbled and the displaced families, stripped of refuge, now survive in tents.
The local Elder Muhammad Jameel recalled how his home and his grain stores were swallowed by the waters: “All the food we save after years of work has been ruined.” Another villager, Taj Din, with eyes full of tears, said: “We will rebuild our houses, but for the love of God, someone must drain this water. He has swept the savings of our life, our dreams, everything.” Their stories echo the difficult situation of thousands who remain exposed under the open sky.
New lives in tent settlements
In the midst of this devastation, a new hope has emerged. In a store settlement, Muhammad Asghar’s wife gave birth to a girl, named Ayesha. Asghar, a daily salary worker with two wives, explained that his other wife, who lives in Alipur, also expects a son in the coming weeks. With the birth of Ayesha, his family has now grown thirteen children: four sons and nine daughters. “On the one hand, we face difficulties due to floods, but on the other, Allah has blessed us with his mercy,” he said.
According to Dr. Zafar Chema, who is serving in the camps, nine babies have been born so far, including one inside a tent where both the mother and the child survived safely. “At present, there are 18 pregnant women in three fields that are expected to be delivered in the coming weeks,” he said. A doctor has been designated for regular checks, and ultrasound facilities have been organized. Future mothers will be transferred to private or public hospitals for delivery when necessary.
However, for many women, the greatest difficulty remains sanitation. “We have basic supplies, but the shortage of bathrooms and even soap makes life unbearable,” said Razia Bibi, a resident of the camp. The organizers provide soap, he said, but is rarely available inside the bathrooms.
A man living in a tree
Floods have also revealed extraordinary resilience scenes. Hajji Rasool Bakhsh, a local resident, spent two weeks perched on a tree in his patio, balancing in wooden boards. He explained that while his family was evacuated, he decided to stay to protect his house from the looters, a common threat in river areas. “Each family has left at least one or two men to protect their belongings,” he said.
Help group service spirit
While the floods eliminated houses and crops, they also stirred notable humanitarian efforts. The Muslim League of Pakistan Markazi (PMML) has established eight tent villages, which houses more than 10,000 people. Residents have three meals a day, solar panels, fans and mosquito networks.
According to PMML spokesman, Muhammad Tabish Qayyum, “our trip continues from rescue to relief and relief to rehabilitation.” He said that more than 500 volunteers from Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi are helping families clean and restore their homes. Temporary schools have been created for children, and medical camps treated by doctors operate 24 hours.
The villagers face ruin and resilience as new lives begin in tents the Punjab Disaster Management Authority reports that water levels in rivers are gradually retreating, although the destruction scale remains vast. The official figures show that 27 Punjab districts were directly affected, with more than 4,700 flooded villages and almost 4.7 million people affected. More than 2.6 million were evacuated to security.
The authorities have established 271 relief camps and 300 medical camps, while 283 veterinary camps have relocated more than 2.1 million cattle to a higher land. Floods have gained 134 lives, with many other wounds. Help Commissioner Nabeel Javed confirmed that damage evaluations began on September 24 and promised compensation for victims through a transparent and simplified process.
Complaints and holes
Despite these measures, many residents remain dissatisfied. Families complain that although food plots, often Biryani boxes, are distributed in government camps, there are few provisions for fans, mosquito networks or adequate sanitation. Heat and humidity have caused disease outbreaks. The distribution of disorganized aid has also led to duplication, and some families are recorded in government and private camps to collect supplies several times, while other needy homes remain excluded. Experts argue that a unified system is urgently needed to guarantee a fair and efficient relief delivery.
A ray of hope
Although floods have destroyed houses and livelihoods, human resilience have not extinguished. The birth of the baby Ayesha in a tent, the tireless work of the volunteers and the determination of the affected villagers point to a future where life will return slowly. The real challenge is not only to drain the waters of floods, but the reconstruction of broken lives. True recovery, the stress of observers, will only be possible if government, civil society and communities join.
