With fresh monsoon rains expected to hit Punjab within hours, authorities are scrambling to move residents to safety as the Sutlej River surges to a dangerous high. Over 19,000 people have already been evacuated from flood-prone areas, while rescue teams brace for what could be one of the province’s most challenging weeks this monsoon season.
Sutlej at Critical Flood Stage
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported a water flow of nearly 130,000 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala, Kasur — a level deemed “critical” and likely to persist for at least two more days. Emergency operations are underway in several districts, including Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar, and Vehari.
“All available resources are being deployed to get people out of harm’s way,” said Khawaja Salman Rafique, who heads Punjab’s disaster management committee.
Rescue teams have completed the relocation of nearly 20,000 residents living along the Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, Indus, and Jhelum rivers. Temporary shelters stocked with food, medicines, and vaccines have been set up, while mosque announcements are being used to direct villagers to safety.
Rising Threat Ahead of Monsoon’s Next Wave
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued a warning for intense rainfall between August 24 and 27, with Punjab’s central and southern districts expected to be among the hardest hit.
Although the Chenab and Ravi remain stable, water levels in the Indus River at Tarbela and Kalabagh are climbing steadily. Hill torrents in Dera Ghazi Khan are also under close watch, while authorities focus much of their attention on high-risk communities in Multan’s Jalalpur Pirwala area.
Deputy Commissioner Waseem Hamid Sindhu emphasized that preventing loss of life was their “top priority,” as many of these low-lying settlements could be submerged if water levels rise further.
Gilgit-Baltistan Faces a Different Kind of Crisis
While Punjab braces for floods, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) continues to grapple with devastation from back-to-back glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). In Talidas village, Ghizer district, a sudden glacial flood earlier this week displaced over 3,000 people, making it one of the region’s largest displacement events since the 2010 Attabad landslide disaster.
Blocked roads, including the Shandur-Ghizer route, have left many areas isolated, complicating relief efforts. Clean drinking water and irrigation supplies are in short supply, while residents remain sheltered in tents.
In a rare moment of recognition, the GB government announced a cash reward for a shepherd who sounded the alarm, helping villagers escape before floodwaters arrived. Plans are underway to relocate the community permanently, but authorities admitted that Ghizer’s early warning system was not functional at the time of the disaster.
Calls for Probe Into Failed Early Warning Project
Former GB chief minister Hafeezur Rehman has called for an investigation into the Rs10 billion GLOF-II project, a UNDP-backed initiative meant to establish early warning systems across GB. Rehman alleged that funds were mismanaged, pointing to Talidas as proof of the system’s failure.
As Pakistan braces for yet another round of heavy monsoon rains, Punjab’s rescue teams and GB’s disaster-hit communities face mounting pressure, with the next 96 hours likely to determine the scale of this year’s flooding crisis.
