11 districts put on alert as flood wave heads towards South Punjab

F.P. Report

LAHORE : Eleven districts have been put on alert as the catastrophic flood wave is now heading for South Punjab where Multan is bracing for a hit and the authorities have deployed dynamites on bunds to deal with the situation.

The authorities have imposed a flood emergency and evacuated over 400,000 people from 138 localities.

As the devastating flood headed downstream after wreaking havoc in many Punjab cities with the government resorting to blowing up embankments to divert the floodwater to save urban centres from the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers, which were overflowing simultaneously for the first time in the country’s history, the authorities have now deployed dynamites to five bunds to protect Multan.

With extremely high flood in Chenab River roaring towards Multan, the authorities were all set to blow up five dykes at Basti Sanki, Basti Duaba, Chak Rohari, Chak Mithon and Shershah to save the City of Sufis.

As many as 30 deaths were reported from flood-related incidents from across the province.

Extremely High flood in Sutlej River is now threatening Kasur city. The floodwater has submerged many cities including Bahawalnagar, Pakpattan, Arifwala, Qabula, Kamalia, Lodhran, Manawala, Sarai Mughal and Rojhan.

Water flow in Sutlej River increased after heavy rain in Kasur and surrounding areas on Saturday.

More than 50 villages cut off from land and thousands of acres of standing crops destroyed after the river water submerged the area and 10 more villages instructed to evacuate.

PDMA warns of high floods in Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab till Sep 3

The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority has warned that very high to exceptionally high floods will continue in the Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab rivers till September 3.

It said the Flood Forecasting Division has informed that under the influence of a monsoon low over north Madhya Pradesh, heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls is expected over the upper catchments of the Sutlej, Bias and Ravi rivers from Sep 2-3.

It said an exceptionally high flood level will continue in the Sutlej at Ganda Singh Wala, while the Chenab at Trimmu is expected to attain an exceptionally high flood level during the next 24 hours. The PDMA added that the Chenab at Panjnad is expected to attain a very high flood level on Sep 3.

30 dead, half million evacuated

Relief officials said nearly half a million people have been displaced by flooding in Punjab after days of heavy rain swelled rivers which affected more than 2,300 villages.

Nabeel Javed, the head of the Punjab government’s relief services, said 481,000 people stranded by the floods have been evacuated, along with 405,000 livestock.

Overall, more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the flooding. “This is the biggest rescue operation in Punjab’s history,” Irfan Ali Khan, the head of the province’s disaster management agency, added at a press conference.

He said more than 800 boats and over 1,300 rescue personnel were involved in evacuating families from affected areas, mostly located in rural areas near the banks of the three rivers.

The latest spell of monsoon flooding since the start of the week has killed 30 people, he said, with hundreds left dead throughout the heavier than usual season that began in June.

“No human life is being left unattended. All kinds of rescue efforts are continuing,” Khan said.

More than 500 relief camps have been set up to provide shelter to families and their livestock.

Rains continued throughout Saturday, including in Lahore, where an entire housing development was half submerged by water.

Kasur under threat

Meanwhile, preparations to breach Right Retired Embankment stem in Kasur have been completed. Evacuation of Right Retired Embankment wall sites continued.

Announcements started in mosques on a continuous basis instructing people to migrate to safer places.

Decision on breaching will be taken considering the opportunity and suitability.

With 855,000 cusecs expected to hit Head Trimmu soon, authorities have evacuated over 429,000 residents, deploying explosives and breaching embankments to protect urban centres from catastrophic flooding.

Bunds near Athara Hazari in Jhang district were breached yesterday to relieve pressure on Head Trimmu, situated downstream of the confluence of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers.

To prevent inundation of Jhang city, the Rivaz Bridge flood bund was also blown up, and residents from adjacent villages were evacuated. Explosives and dynamites were deployed near Rungpur and Shershah bunds to strategically divert water away from Head Muhammad Wala.

“There was no other way to drain the water,” Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed said, defending the drastic measures. “We are deploying all available resources and machinery to protect lives and infrastructure.”

Relief operation has been expedited in flood-hit Jhang

Relief operation has been expedited in Jhang as water from the Chenab River inundated over one hundred and thirty villages in the district. In the suburban area of Jhang, the main gate of the shrine of Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (RA) has also been closed.

However, visitors are being allowed entry through alternative gates. According to official sources, the water flow at Chund Bridge has reached five hundred and fifty thousand cusec, while at Head Trimmu it stands at one hundred and forty-seven thousand cusec. Authorities have confirmed that all protective embankments across the district remain safe, with the Irrigation Department and other agencies on high alert. Heavy machinery has been deployed at sensitive points to ensure the security of protective dykes.

Rescue teams are in the field to extend all possible assistance to the flood-affected people besides ensuring immediate provision of food and other essential supplies. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a flood warning for the Chenab River at Head Marala. As a precautionary measure, the NDMA sent out alerts via SMS to mobile phone users. The authority warned of a high flood risk at Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad headworks, urging residents in these areas to remain prepared for any emergency situation.

Conditions on the Ravi River were mixed; Head Jassar was steady at 82,140 cusecs, and Ravi Syphon was falling at 160,515 cusecs. Shahdara was steady at 159,847 cusecs; however, Balloki Headworks continued to rise, reaching 180,520 cusecs. Sidhnai Headworks remained steady at 29,278 cusecs.

The Sutlej River was showing incre­a­sed activity at its upstream point, with Ganda Singh Wala rising at 385,569 cus­ecs. Downstream, Sule­­manki Headworks was steady at 138,058 cusecs, and Islam Headworks was steady at 60,814 cusecs.

According to PDMA data, over 1.46 million people in 1,769 mouzas have been affected due to extremely high floods in the Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab rivers, with a total of 28 lives lost.

The government has evacuated over 429,177 people, of whom 3,565 were living in 365 relief camps, and 300,174 cattle were transported to safety.

Around 40 to 45 villages were already inundated in Mandi Bahauddin before the water receded back into the river.

Multan next in line

National Highway Autho­rity (NHA) Chairman Shahryar Sultan and Multan Commissioner Amir Kareem Khan visited the Head Muhammad Wala breaching section and Bund Bosan to review the flood management arrangements.

Mr Khan briefed about the current flood situation and the measures being taken to mitigate potential risks.

He said that a flood surge of up to 800,000 cusecs is expected in the Chenab River within the next two days. “The Head Muhammad Wala Road will be breached if Multan city faces any threat. The final decision will be made by the technical committee of the Irrigation Department.”

Multan Deputy Commissioner Waseem Hamid Sindhu said the administration has set a target of relocating 300,000 residents to safer locations and assured that all riverine areas will be evacuated by Saturday night.

Water level at Tarbela Dam rises

The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) released 381,300 cusecs of water from various rim stations, with an inflow of 402,100 cusecs.

According to official data, Tarbela Dam has reached its maximum conservation level of 1,550 feet, standing 148 feet above its dead level of 1,402 feet. The dam recorded an inflow of 188,500 cusecs against an outflow of 181,100 cusecs.

At Mangla Dam, the water level stood at 1,223 feet, which is 173 feet higher than its dead level of 1,050 feet. The inflow at the dam was recorded at 28,400 cusecs, while the outflow stood at 8,000 cusecs.

Water level reached 2314.75 feet at Simili Dam, which has a capacity to store 2315 feet of water.

Water level at Rawal Dam reached 1750.50 feet, which has a capacity to store 1752 feet,

Downstream releases included 206,300 cusecs at Kalabagh, 222,700 cusecs at Taunsa, 335,800 cusecs at Guddu, and 229,500 cusecs at Sukkur. From River Kabul, 32,200 cusecs were released at Nowshera, while 148,500 cusecs flowed from River Chenab at Marala.

The latest figures reflect rising water levels across major reservoirs and rivers, ensuring steady flows for irrigation and other needs.

Early harvest of crops in Kabirwala

A large flood wave is moving from Head Balloki towards Head Sadhanai after the sudden rise in water level in River Ravi at Kabirwala on Saturday morning.

Local residents were very upset about the arising situation, and the rising outflow of water was also recorded at Daduana, which forced them to move to other safer places.

A citizen said that they started harvesting their crops prior to their time to avoid any loss. They urged the government to announce a relief package for the flood victims.

NDMA reports extremely high flood in Ravi, Sutlej rivers

National Disaster Management Authority has reported extremely high and high flood levels at different locations in Ravi and Sutlej rivers.

According to NDMA’s latest update, the water level in River Ravi at Balloki is experiencing an extremely high flood with 197,170 cusecs and a rising flow. A high flood has been recorded at Shahdara with 138,600 cusecs, though the flow is falling. At Jassar, there is medium flood with 78,300 cusecs and steady flow.

At Ganda Singh Wala on the Sutlej, there is an extremely high flood with 303,828 cusecs and a steady flow. Suleimanki is facing a high flood with 138,058 cusecs and a steady flow.

Indus River at Guddu is in medium flood with 350,943 cusecs and a steady flow, River Chenab at Marala with 98,640 cusecs and at Trimmu with 145,144 cusecs are at normal levels with steady flow. At Panjnad, the water level stands at 64,451 cusecs.

Water level to surge at Head Sulemanki

Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director-General Irfan Ali Kathia on Saturday said that flood water level is likely to head towards Head Sulemanki during the next 48 hours.

While speaking with the media, DG Irfan Ali Kathia said that India released more than 65,000 cusecs of water. Currently, three 30.3000 cusecs of floodwater are passing through Ganda Singh Wala.

He said that more villages were evacuated, which were located near the River Sutlej. Director-General Irfan Ali Kathia said that 8,00,000 cusecs of floodwater will likely reach Head Trimmu tomorrow. He said that 1,21,0000 cusecs flood water reached Shahadara and two lakh twenty thousand floodwater is passing through at Head Balooki.

Director-General Irfan Ali Kathia said that a decision will be taken to breach at Head Mohammadwala.

Floodwater of nine lakh twenty-five thousand cusecs is likely to reach Punjnad on September 4, and a floodwater of ten lakh cusecs will enter in Indus River at Guddu Barrage on September 6, 2025.