Heartland under water siege

Punjab was hit by catastrophic floods triggered by heavy rains and worsened by India's release of water, prompting the provincial government to call in the army for a massive relief and rescue operation across several districts.

In extraordinary measures to save lives and protect critical infrastructure, authorities deliberately breached an embankment near the Qadirabad headworks on the Chenab River to ease pressure on the structure and reduce the water's destructive force.

Despite the intervention, vast areas remain inundated, including the Kartarpur Gurdwara, one of Sikhism's holiest sites, where floodwaters entered the compound, disrupting pilgrimage activity and stranding dozens before rescue boats evacuated them.

At least seven people, including five from the same family, were swept away by floodwaters in Sambrial, according to Rescue 1122.

The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that an embankment near the Qadirabad Dam on the Chenab River was breached to ease pressure on the structure.

Rescue operations are under way across Punjab, where floodwaters have submerged houses, shops and farmlands in multiple districts.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed that over 210,000 people have already been displaced, with further evacuations planned as rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej swell to dangerous levels.

The Punjab government has sought military assistance in Lahore, Kasur, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Narowal, Okara, Sargodha and Hafizabad. Army units have been deployed to aid evacuations of people and livestock, while rescue teams have been dispatched to flood-prone areas.

Rising rivers

Reports indicate that water levels in the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers have surged dangerously. Villages along the Sutlej in Kasur, Okara, and Bahawalnagar districts have already seen flooding, with crops standing waist-deep in water.

Local administrations have set up temporary relief camps and begun shifting residents from riverine areas to safer ground. "We are trying to move people before the waters rise further," said a Kasur district official. "Our priority is to save lives first, then livelihoods."

The deputy commissioners in districts Sargodha, Lodhran, Multan and Muzaffargarh have issued red alerts, warning that record flows could inundate dozens of villages and affect thousands of people.

Local accounts from Burewala say surging waters have breached protective embankments, inundating villages including Lakhha Saldira, Mianpur, and Madher, submerging farmland and displacing thousands.

In Muzaffargarh, officials described the current flood wave in the Chenab River as the largest since 2014, warning that nearly 900,000 cusecs of water was moving downstream from Marala and could soon hit Rangpur.

The Water Resources Ministry warned that exceptionally high flood levels are expected in the coming days, with India having opened all gates of its major dams in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) after heavy rains.

The flooding has caused severe disruption to pilgrimage at Kartarpur, where the Gurdwara's courtyard and surrounding areas have been inundated. Officials confirmed that the central shrine remained structurally safe on higher ground.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast further heavy rain across Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and parts of Sindh and Balochistan from August 29 to September 2.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, chairing an emergency meeting in Islamabad, directed federal and provincial authorities to ensure early warnings, timely evacuations and uninterrupted relief supplies in Punjab.

He emphasised the need for coordination between NDMA and PDMA to safeguard lives, property and infrastructure. He also asked for pre-emptive steps in Sindh, warning that the coming days could bring further surges across the country's already overburdened river system.

The prime minister was informed that there was a risk of high-level flooding at Head Marala and Khanki due to increased water discharge in the Chenab River. Besides, the pressure of high water discharge in the Ravi River at Jastar and Shahdara, and in the Sutlej River at Ganda Singh Wala and Sulemanki.

Shehbaz also directed for measures to ensure early flood warnings for Sindh, asking the public representatives and government institutions to ensure timely evacuation, safe relocation, and effective monitoring of relief operations.

The death toll from flooding in Pakistan since the monsoon began in late June has risen to 802 — with half of the fatalities recorded this month alone. According to officials, thousands of people also remained stranded for the last several days in the country's north.

The flood situation revives memories of the devastating 2010 super floods, when one-fifth of Pakistan's land was submerged, and the 2014 floods that battered Punjab's agricultural belt, submerging entire villages along the Chenab River.

(WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)