Lahore:
Disaster management officials announced the end of the monsoon season, but flood threats persisted in southern Punjab on Tuesday while the province was preparing to collect the parts after a calamite deluge which affected more than four million people, their homes and their cultures.
While flooding waters have attenuated pressure in the higher regions of Punjab, they continue to cross the southern districts and flow into the Industry river, which prompted the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to issue new alerts for Sindh and Balutchistan.
Until now, the disaster has made 66 lives in Punjab and has damaged around 1.95 million acres of agricultural land. Among the victims, there were 13 people, including five children, who died while the floods devastated Jalalpur Pirwala on Tuesday.
“The tenth and last fate of monsoon ended, without any significant new precipitation expected in the superior Punjab,” said the head of the province of disaster management (PDMA), Irfan Ali Kathia. “The flows move away in the north, but the south continues to bear the weight while the waters go to the Sindh.”
As a sign of improvement, the authorities noted that residents of the camps of the districts of Gujrat and Narowal had started to return home. The officials said they expected these villages to evolve towards normality within four to five days.
Meanwhile, the authorities of Multan and Muzaffargarh weighed desperate measures, in particular the violation of the flashing against the floods of Shershah along the Chenab river if the levels increase beyond 393.5 feet. A violation could flood 20 to 30 villages, but officials argue that it may be the only way to save Multan.
Pakistan railways have warned that if Shershah’s embankment is violated, services on the Multan – Rawalpindi line – including the Mehr Express and Thal Express – will be suspended, and even the main line of Multan – Karachi could be threatened.
Further south, the embankments in Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan remain under pressure, but still hold, said officials. However, violations near small villages like Panoohar have moved hundreds.
In Uch Sharif, dozens of colonies have passed underwater. Torrential rains have also overwhelmed tent camps in Multan, while rescue boats capsized in Liaquatpur and Muzaffargarh, killing four. More than 100 villages of Jalalpur Pirwala remain flooded.
Punjab rescue commissioner Nabeel Javed said that 4.2 million people in 4,300 villages were affected, with more than 2.16 million evacuation. The province has installed 417 rescue camps, 498 medical camps and 431 veterinary centers, moving 1.57 million safety animals.
National, the NDMA said that nearly 928 people have died and more than 1,000 injured since the end of June. More than 8,100 houses have been destroyed or damaged, the heaviest losses reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Loss of cattle exceed 6,000.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has trained a high -level committee to assess agricultural and food security losses. The panel will estimate damage to cash crops such as cotton, rice, sugar cane and corn, while examining the impact on cattle, fodder and exports.
Kathia stressed that the government would announce a major rescue set for affected families. “This is one of the biggest flooding events in Punjab history,” he said. “But with coordinated efforts, we saved millions of lives and will continue to support recovery in the coming weeks.”
While the punjab flood waters poured south, Sindh and Balutchistan were preparing for the impact. In the midst of warnings of the storm, rain and possible hill torrents from Kirthar’s chain, the NDMA has issued flood alerts for Karachi, Hyderabad, Thitta, Badin and several other districts.
The SUKKUR dam already receiving 375,000 brackets, the authorities have opened all doors to mitigate the pressure. The officials say that the next 48 hours are essential. If the peaks of the river coincide with fresh rains, average floods in the Sindh could degenerate into a wider disaster.
