Lahore:
The Pakistan flood crisis worsened Wednesday as the authorities warned of “exceptionally high” water levels in the Chenab and Sutlej rivers, threatening large parts of the southern Punjab. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) confirmed that the Mousson floods have made at least 883 lives since the end of June.
In the past 24 hours, two other children died – one in Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and another in Islamabad – pushing the number of deaths at 883 to 883, with nearly 1,200 others injured, according to the NDMA daily report.
Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa remain the hardest affected regions. Punjab reported 223 deaths and 648 injuries, while Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa recorded 488 deaths and 360 injuries. Sindh reported 58 deaths, Gilgit-Baltistan 41, Azad Cachemire 38, Balutchistan 26 and Islamabad Nine.
The NDMA, through its National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC), has issued a new opinion, warning potential precipitation in several regions of Pakistan over the next 12 to 24 hours.
Rain alerts have been issued for Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, with intermittent showers expected in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, Dire, Swat, Biner and Abbottabad.
The authorities warned of sudden floods in the low areas, overflowing streams and landslides on hilly land.
The floods have destroyed or damaged more than 9,200 houses – including 4,700 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2,100 in Azad Cashmere, and destroyed more than 6,000 cattle heads. Nearly 240 bridges and more than 670 kilometers of roads were also damaged across the country.
Chenab flood wave
Authorities in the Multan division said that a wave of dangerous flooding in the Chenab has flooded dozens of colonies and increased water levels up to four feet along the Akbar flooding. Houses near the embankment have already suffered damage, and officials said explosives had been placed on the head of Muhammad Wala to create a controlled violation if necessary.
Drone surveillance teams have been deployed to locate blocked families and monitor abandoned houses overnight to dissuade looting. In Trimmu Headworks, the water was recorded at nearly 400,000 Cuses, while in Panjnad, those responsible expect a “very high flood” by Thursday (today).
In addition, the PDMA Punjab reported that Chenab’s flood waters had overwhelmed 261 villages in Jhang and at least two dozen in Muzaffargarh. The authorities have said that water levels in the Sutlej and delighted also increases dangerously due to exits from Indian tanks.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that exceptionally high flood levels will persist in the Sutlej in Ganda Singh Wala and that a new wave of flooding in the Chenab could reach “very high” “exceptional” levels from Marala. September 5, threatening thousands of acres of agricultural land and hundreds of villages.
The Indus in Guddu should also reach “high to very strong” levels “flooding by September 6 or 7. PMD warned that urban floods are possible in Lahore, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Islamabad due to high precipitation in progress in the higher watersheds.
The NDMA said that 1,297 rescue camps are active nationally, housing more than 40,000 people in the last 24 hours. Some 568 medical camps have treated more than 45,000 patients, many of whom suffer from water -borne diseases. Punjab alone created 655 camps for 11,000 displaced residents.
The rescue operations remain extensive. In the past 24 hours, 210 operations in the Sindh have evacuated more than 55,000 people, while Islamabad reported 14 rescues. In total, more than 1.08 million people have been saved since the start of floods at the end of June.
Federal agencies and humanitarian partners have distributed thousands of tents, food rations, covers and mosquitoes, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa receiving major part of the aid. The authorities have urged provincial authorities to remain on high alert, while water levels continue to increase in the main rivers.
