Lahore / Kasur / Multan:
Punjab, the country’s bread base, continued to settle from one of the worst decades of decades on Friday, with three of its main rivers on the “Super Flood” scene and the forced authorities to explode part of the Sutlej river to prevent Kasur from being swallowed by rising waters.
At least 28 people have already lost their lives, most of them in the Gujranwala division, beaten by sudden floods and urban floods.
The provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) has confirmed that water levels in the upper part of the Ravi and Chenab rivers have started to retreat. However, downstream flows remain a rising tide.
Meanwhile, River Sutlej has swelled at its highest level since 1955, which prompted the officials to deliberately rape the embankment RRA-1 to protect the city of Kasur.
“The increase in water flow from India means that Sutlej water rushes to Kasur,” said a PDMA official and added: “We are forced to rape the Rahimyar embankment in order to save Kasur.”
The PDMA also warned of an imminent threat to Okara and Sahiwal, warning that the ramp -up of Ravi could flood Sadani within 36 hours. “When the water level is raised in Balloki, problems will arise on the drain dike,” warned authority.
Friday, flooding waters struck the outskirts of the second largest city in the country, Lahore, and threatened to overwhelm the big city of Jhang, in the worst floods in almost 40 years in this part of the country.
More rains feared
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) provides for new rounds of rain, wind and widespread thunderstorms on Saturday (today) in several regions.
Sudden floods, urban floods and landslides are feared in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir, Islamabad and the Potohar region, while northeast of Balutchistan, the South-East Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan can also be whipped by evening passures.
The PMD warned that heavy rains could trigger floods in streams and draws across the north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Murrier, Galliyat, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and the northeast of Punjab, while low areas in cities like Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot are risking urban floods.
Land lands and mud shifts can also block roads in hilly KP and cashmere tracks.
More than 1.4 million people struck
The ongoing devastating floods affected 1.45 million people in 1,769 villages in Punjab, official figures revealed on Friday.
According to the PDMA, the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers are in the grip of a super flood and have flooded large expanses of earth.
In response, 365 rescue camps were created in districts struck by floods to house the displaced population.
The authorities have said that rescue operations have so far evacuated 429,177 people, while more than 300,000 cattle have also been moved to safer land.
The flood waters of the main rivers of Punjab have reached some of their highest levels for decades, the authorities confirming that the flow of the Ravi at Shahdara de Lahore river has swollen at 220,000 Cuses – the largest push since 1988.
While the water levels remain dangerously high in certain parts of the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab, the managers say that the flows in most of the main works are currently stable and under control.
A head of the head is a civil engineering structure – like a spiller or a dam – built through a river to divert water in a channel or another navigable path for irrigation or other ends
According to the Punjab irrigation department, Jassar’s Ravi of Jassar takes place at 85,980 Cusecases, while Shahdara recorded 201,400 cuses with levels gradually.
At the delight, the flow rate is 202,428 Cuses, showing a downward trend.
Conversely, the water levels increase in Balloki Headworks, where the flow has reached 151,560 Cusecases, while the heads of Sidhnai head remain stable at 25,478 Cuses.
On the Sutlej, the flows remain heavy while Ganda Singh Wala recorded 261,053 Cusecases, Sulemanki 113.124 Cusecases and Islam Headworks 60.814 Cusecases – all stable but under narrow surveillance.
In the Chenab, Marala reported a discharge of 116,440 Cuses, Khanki 188 100 Cuses and Qadirabad 217,375 Cusecases, with flows described as stable. However, in Chiniot Bridge, the river wore an extraordinary 842,500 Cusecases, while Trimmu Headworks recorded 129,372 CUSECs.
Shahdara de Lahore struck hard
The director general of the PDMA, Irfan Ali Kathia, confirmed that the strong increase in Shahdara de Lahore has been the highest since 1988, although the city has reported no loss of life.
He noted that flood waters have entered nine sites in Lahore, but that timely rescue operations prevented the victims.
More than 147,000 CUSECs are currently crossing Balloki, with downstream flows that should merge into the delight.
Kathia said India continues to release around 80,000 Cusecs from Madhopur’s head, water that will move through Shahdara, Chiniot and forward to redo the bridge – now described as the “greatest concern of the government”.
He added that officials plan to rape the protective embankments near Rewas to protect Jhang. Downstream, flood waters should reach Trimmu, Muhammadwala chief and finally the Multan river system.
The situation on the Sutlej remains precarious, with flows more than 200,000 brackets supported for four consecutive days near Kasur, which has alarms in Sulemanki.
In Wazirabad, the foul tide down has left the mud, the buzzing of insects and the threat of illness.
The mother of four, Nazia Nasir, told AFP that the army had evacuated his family, who found that their house had collapsed on their return.
“Everything we have is in ruins,” said the 40 -year -old woman, eliminating bare hands.
“My son has nothing to wear, he walks in just a t-shirt. The cultures on which we relied for our livelihoods have disappeared.”
Nasima Bibi was not yet able to return to her submerged house, camping on a higher ground on the side of the road.
“I don’t know what I’m going to find but I have no other place to go. The sun has burned my skin but I can’t leave,” she said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should convene an emergency meeting with provincial ministers and chiefs of all the institutions concerned on a strategy to deal with climate change and future floods, the government announced in an X position.
“A strategy is being formulated for the construction of water tanks in the four provinces, the cashmere of the Azad and the Gilgit-Baltistan, and for better water management,” said the post, adding that these tanks would be built with the cooperation of all the provinces.
“Climate change is a reality, and it is only through effective preparation for this that the damage caused by natural disasters can be prevented,” said post. The four provinces, Azad Cashmere, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Federation must work together to protect people from the harmful effects of climate change.
“This is a national problem on which everyone must work together.”
