PM orders assessment of flood, rain losses

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the relevant authorities to prepare a comprehensive assessment of human and financial losses, including damage to crops, livestock, and communication infrastructure in rain- and flood-affected areas.

He stressed that once the assessment is completed, the government could formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation strategy, effectively restore the affected areas, and support the impacted population.

The prime minister issued the directives while chairing a review meeting on the loss of lives and property caused by recent rains and floods, including estimated damages to crops and livestock, the PM Office Media Wing said in a statement.

Weeks of heavy monsoon rains have left vast parts of Punjab and Sindh under water, displacing tens of thousands and devastating farmland, villages and infrastructure. Officials warn that recovery will take time as floodwaters have yet to recede in many districts.

In southern Punjab, entire communities in Alipur, Khan Garh Doema, Seetpur, Latimarri, Azmatpur and nearby villages have been submerged. In Bahawalnagar's Minchinabad, more than 15 villages remain cut off, with water levels still between five and seven feet deep. Hundreds of acres of crops have been destroyed. Relief efforts are further complicated by the loss of road access, leaving many families stranded.

The damage has been widespread. In Uch Sharif and Ahmadpur East, homes have collapsed and thousands of acres of farmland lie under water. Floodwaters from the Sutlej River have ravaged 67 villages in Minchinabad, affecting more than 56,000 people.

In Chishtian, 47 villages were inundated, while in Shujaabad's Basti Soman hundreds of homes were reduced to rubble, leaving thousands without shelter. Jalalpur Pirwala's section of the M-5 Motorway was forced to close after being overtaken by floodwaters.

The NDMA on Tuesday confirmed six deaths in Punjab during the last 24 hours — two each in Muzaffargarh, Chiniot and Multan — all caused by river flooding.

In Sindh, floodwaters have surged downstream. At Guddu Barrage, inflows were recorded at nearly 595,000 cusecs, while Sukkur Barrage saw more than 508,000 cusecs. Ghotki district reported cotton and sugarcane fields under water after floodwaters struck the Ronti embankment. In Nowshero Feroze, the collapse of the Mahijo Bhan embankment near Kamal Dero drowned more than 50 villages. At Larkana's Naudero, high-level flooding put heavy pressure on protective levees, with homes in Mitho Khoro village inundated.