Floods in Punjab escalated into a full-blown crisis on Wednesday as the Chenab, Sutlej, and Ravi rivers submerged dozens of additional villages, destroying crops and orchards spread across hundreds of acres. The situation turned critical following India’s release of more water into the Sutlej River, prompting the Ministry of Water Resources to issue an emergency alert to all relevant departments. According to rescue sources, the floods have affected approximately 4.209 million people across Punjab, with 2.19 million already relocated to safer places and 76 fatalities confirmed in various flood-related incidents.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported extensive devastation, with over 4,400 villages affected across the province. The catastrophe extended beyond human impact, with 1.581 million livestock also moved to safety. Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed detailed the emergency response, noting that 404 relief camps, 488 medical camps, and 421 veterinary camps have been established in the flood-affected districts. The water storage situation reached alarming levels, with Mangla Dam 90% full and Tarbela Dam at 100% capacity.
Critical infrastructure failures exacerbated the disaster, including the collapse of a protective embankment in the Chenab River near Jalalpur Pirwala, which led to widespread destruction of homes and crops. Authorities took drastic measures, deliberately breaching embankments near Vehari Bridge to protect urban areas, resulting in the submergence of dozens of areas. The Sutlej River experienced high-level floods at Harike and Ferozepur, with water flow reaching 230,000 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala, prompting PDMA to issue very high flood alerts.
Despite the PDMA’s announcement that the 10th spell of monsoon rains has ended and no further increase in river levels is expected, flood conditions persisted near Multan and Muzaffargarh, where the Chenab River was carrying over 500,000 cusecs. A second wave of flooding from the Chenab is heading towards Head Muhammad Wala in Multan, prompting preparations to breach the Shershah embankment. On the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, rescue supplies and personnel have been deployed to six southern Punjab cities, with army teams assisting in emergency operations. The Indus River also continued swelling, with authorities warning that up to 200 villages in Sindh could be affected if conditions worsen.
