LAHORE: Irfan Ali Kathia, Director General of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), announced that the tenth monsoon spell has concluded and significant rainfall is not anticipated in Punjab in the near future.
Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, he mentioned that while some parts of southern Punjab experienced flooding, a high-level flood warning remains in effect for the Sutlej River after 253,000 cusecs of water passed through Ganda Singh.
Kathia highlighted that water levels in India’s Thein Dam have decreased by 11 feet, and currently, 34,000 cusecs are flowing into the Ravi River. The inflow at Kasur has reduced from 311,000 to 253,000 cusecs, with expectations that water levels will stabilize within a day or two. He assured that no further flood threats are likely from the Sutlej, Ravi, or Chenab Rivers over the next four to five days. The flow at Trimmu is receding at 300,000 cusecs, while Panjnad sees over 300,000 cusecs, and Guddu more than 400,000 cusecs.
Over 32 villages remain submerged, but residents of Gujrat and Narowal districts are gradually returning from relief camps. The government has set up 488 relief camps, sheltering around 80,000 individuals. To date, approximately 2.1 million people have been relocated to safer areas, with 250,000 benefiting from medical camps. Despite these efforts, Punjab has reported 66 fatalities related to flooding.
The disaster management chief also revealed that nearly 1.95 million acres of farmland have been damaged, with southern Punjab bearing the brunt of the destruction—a record flood surge in the province’s history. Furthermore, 2,700 residents were evacuated from Jalalpur Pirwala, where rescue operations involving nearly 70 boats are ongoing.
Kathia described this as the largest-ever rescue operation in Punjab, carried out jointly by the Pakistan Army, Rescue 1122, and other government agencies. In the past 24 hours, one girl lost her life after her house’s roof collapsed due to heavy rain.
