- Web Desk
- 9 Minutes ago
Punjab witnesses exceptionally high flood, India releases more water
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- Web Desk
- Sep 01, 2025
ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The federal government on Monday informed the authorities in Punjab that India had released additional water in both Chenab and Sutlej, which would reach Pakistan in next 24 to 48 hours, exacerbating the already devastating flood situation in the country.
Earlier in the day, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab warned that very high to exceptionally high flood is expected in Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej subjected to releasing water from reservoirs in India from September 2 to 4.
A similar situation is expected in the nullahs feeding the Ravi and Chenab rivers.
The latest warning comes as the waterflow was on the rise at Trimmu Barrage in the Chenab River with last reading stood at 550,000 cusecs.
In this scenario, the PDMA said the Chenab River was expected to attain very high to exceptionally high flood level at Panjnad on September 4 and 5.
Read more: Chenab flood to worsen as India releases water from Baglihar, Salal
On Monday evening, PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said the deluge in Chenab would enter Multan on Tuesday, with the river flow Muhammad Wala Headworks expected up to 700,000 cusecs.
The latest estimate is lower than the previous predictions which had suggested up to 800,000 cusecs of flood.
Kathia added that the government had given clear instructions to protect the large urban areas and they could opt to blow up dyke on Monday night, if required.
MONSOON ZOOMING IN ON PUNJAB
With Punjab already experiencing a “super flood”, more heavy to very heavy monsoon rains are expected to lash the province from September 1 to 3, which forced the PDMA to issue the exceptionally high flood warning.
In this connection, the PDMA said a well-marked monsoon low was present over southwest Haryana and adjoining areas, while a strong trough of a westerly wave lied over the northern parts of the country.
“As a result of the combined effect of these significant weather systems, widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall”, the PDMA said, “is expected over the upper catchments” of Sutlej and Beas (Upstream of Ganda Singh Wala), Ravi, and Chenab along with their tributaries/nullahs.
Moreover, Lahore and Gujranwala divisions would also experience the combined effects of these weather systems, raising the fears of urban flooding.
Later in the evening, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other parts of northern Punjab as well as Kashmir received heavy downpour, inundating the low-lying areas and roads.
On the other hand, there is no hope of any relief in the case of Ganda Singh Wala where the Sutlej River enters Pakistan.
It is has been over two weeks Sutlej is very high or exceptionally flood at Ganda Singh Wala. And the PDMA said on Monday that the situation would remain the same with the Sutlej River being in the exceptionally high flood.
Earlier, the PDMA issued a high-level flood alert in the Sutlej River at Harike, and Ferozepur — both in India. “Instructions have been given to the administrations of the relevant districts to ensure emergency measures and immediate safety arrangements,” it added.
LIVELIHOOD LOST, LIVES DESTROYED
Reuters in a report on Monday described the affects of the ongoing unprecedented natural disaster on the lives of people.
Across the fertile plains of Punjab, families are struggling to rebuild their lives after the worst flooding in decades swept away homes, destroyed crops, and drowned livestock, it said.
“Thirteen of my 15 acres are gone,” said Muhammad Amjad, 45, a rice and potato farmer in Chiniot, as he stood by submerged fields. “Our rice is completely destroyed. Women and children have evacuated. Men are left guarding what remains.”
Amish Sultan, 50, lost his only source of income.
“I have 10 buffaloes. They’re so weak there’s no milk left for my children, let alone to sell. I used to earn 100,000 to 150,000 rupees a month. That stability is gone.”
Farm labourer Mehdi Hassan, 40, said entire neighbourhoods were washed away.
“My home is completely destroyed. We’ve been left on the roadside with whatever we could carry. We tried to build our own dams but the water still took everything.”
Farmers and exporters warn the impact on agriculture will be staggering. Rice, sugarcane, maize, vegetables, and cotton fields across Punjab are under water.
“We were expecting a bumper rice crop this year,” said Ibrahim Shafiq, export manager at Latif Rice Mills.
Cotton losses also threaten the textile industry, which makes up more than half of Pakistan’s exports, at a time when the country faces a 19 per cent US tariff in its biggest market.
COST OF RECOVERY
The destruction extends beyond fields. In Lahore, 38-year-old rickshaw driver Aslam said he waded through six feet (two metres) of water to pull his three-wheeler vehicle to safety.
“I’ve lived near the Ravi all my life and it never flooded my home before. This time it came inside in hours. If I hadn’t saved my rickshaw, we would have lost everything. It is my only livelihood,” said Aslam, who is now living in a relief tent.
A muddy tent city has been erected near the Ravi River, where families huddle under tarpaulins and tents, some beside foul-smelling drains.
About 150 to 200 camps have been set up for the displaced just in that area, said Dr Ijaz Nazeer of Al Khidmat Foundation. Each tent is home to around five to eight people.
With three of Pakistan’s main rivers in flood, authorities in the Punjab have set up 511 relief camps, 351 medical sites, and 321 veterinary facilities, evacuating nearly 481,000 people and 405,000 animals so far. More than 15,000 police officers have been deployed as monsoon rains continue.
Farmers and experts warn the cost of recovery will run into billions of rupees to rebuild homes and re-establish farms.
Farmer and activist Aamer Hayat Bhandara said unless the recovery is supported, food insecurity will deepen.
“Farmers grow the food that sustains us all. If they are left alone in times of disaster, the whole nation will suffer,” he said.
It’s a developing story. Details to follow.
