At least 20 people have died in Pakistan’s Punjab province this week, and more than 435,000 residents have been evacuated amid record-breaking monsoon floods, a senior disaster agency official said Friday.
The flooding—occurring at the peak of monsoon season—is being fueled both by torrential rains and the release of excess water from upstream dams in India, compounding the effects in a province that serves as the nation’s breadbasket and home to more than half of Pakistan’s estimated 240 million people.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reports that approximately 1,769 villages are submerged, affecting some 1.45 million people. Nationally, monsoon-related deaths since June have surpassed 820.
PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia told reporters that water levels in the provincial capital, Lahore, have begun receding after reaching heights not seen since 1988. “By the grace of Allah, all destruction was avoided due to timely response and public cooperation,” he said, noting a decline in rescue calls.
Kathia added that a massive surge of water—estimated at 217,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs)—is now flowing downstream along the Ravi River. At the Balloki Barrage, the flow has nearly reached 147,000 cusecs and is still rising. The tributary Nala Deg is expected to contribute an additional 10,000 to 20,000 cusecs.
Officials have prepared a controlled breach at Rewas Bridge near Jhang to divert water and protect populated areas—though it may flood farmland and smaller communities. At Chiniot Bridge, flows have climbed to about 830,000 cusecs.
This marks the first time in nearly four decades that the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers are experiencing high floods simultaneously. The combined population of Jhang and Chiniot—both under imminent threat—is approximately 4.6 million.
So far, 365 relief camps have been established in public buildings, though only around 4,000 to 4,500 people have taken shelter. Authorities have evacuated over 301,000 animals and ensured continuous supplies of fodder and wheat. Families of those killed are being compensated with 1 million Pakistani rupees (about $3,570) each.
Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman said tent villages have been set up, mobile “clinic-on-wheels” units dispatched, and medical camps stocked with essential medications—including anti-snakebite vaccines. Schools in the affected districts may remain closed for a week. The Livestock Department is also supplying feed and vaccines for animals.
“All relief and rescue needs are being met as instructed by the chief minister,” Zaman said.
Meanwhile, the Sutlej River continues to carry elevated flows—261,000 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala for the fourth straight day—raising water levels downstream in Okara, Pakpattan, and Bahawalnagar to between 100,000 and 150,000 cusecs.
Kathia warned that these surges are expected to feed into Sindh’s river system in the coming days, prompting a high-alert status in that province.
Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has already warned that the Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers are carrying unusually high volumes and are likely to affect Sindh.
Sindh is particularly vulnerable as the Indus River flows through most of its districts. The province endured massive devastation in the 2022 monsoon floods, which submerged a third of the country, killed more than 1,700 people, displaced 33 million, and destroyed infrastructure and crops.
Similarly, the 2011 floods claimed over 430 lives across more than 17 districts, and the 2010 “super-floods” displaced millions in an earlier test of the country’s resilience.
