- Web Desk
- Today
Overflowing Chenab, Sutlej flood more settlements
-
- Web Desk
- Sep 11, 2025
ISLAMABAD: The floodwaters submerged more areas in Muzaffargarh, Multan, Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar as there was exceptionally high flood at Panjnad — the confluence of Chenab and Sutlej — on Thursday.
On the other hand, 18 people drowned, with two others still missing, in separate incidents in southern Punjab as the government has been trying its best to rescue those stranded in floodwaters.
By 3pm, the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) showed that the waterflow at Panjnad was 660,350 cusecs after attaining a high of 668,195 cusecs — the highest of the current season as well — earlier in the day.
At 11pm, the water flow at Panjnad had reached 666,544 cusecs.
The worsening situation in southern Punjab can be gauged by the fact that floodwaters washed away several dykes in Jhang, Multan and Bahawalnagar during the past 24 hours.
It means more people are now disconnected from the rest of the country, with the only option they have is to be rescued either by boats or helicopters.
Meanwhile, there is another option: the drones that can carry up to 100 kg of weight. And the Punjab government have introduced some of them.
It is the sustained pressure due to record-breaking floods that have weakened the levees in the region and, therefore, more and more breaches are being reported.
BOATS CAPSIZED
In Bahawalpur, a boat carrying 22 people capsized in the Sutlej River near Chak Lalika, resulting in two missing persons, as the rescuers managed to save the lives of others.
According to officials, the incident happened because the small boat was transporting more people than its capacity to safety.
On the other hand, the rescuers recovered the bodies of those nine people who drowned in a similar incident in the Jalalpur Pirwala area on Wednesday night. The officials had saved the remaining 19.
Four of the dead were siblings — brothers and sisters.
Nine others lost their lives in separate incidents near Liaquatpur in Rahim Yar Khan.
STILL AT RISK
Earlier, authorities opted for breaching the Jalalpur Pirwala-Uch Sharif Road to save Jalalpur Pirwala city from imminent flooding as the accumulated floodwaters of Chenab and Sutlej were devastating the region on an unprecedented scale.
Read more: Situation critical at Panjnad, breach designed to save Jalalpur Pirwala
The move submerged some villages and semi-desert surroundings as the experts chose this point to release pressure by diverting floodwater to a sparsely-populated area.
However, threat to Jalalpur Pirwala city still persists owning to the immense amount of water surrounding the area amid the fears that the main protective levee may not not sustain the pressure.
Meanwhile, army and rescue officials have so far evacuated around 15,000 stranded people from the city in what is being described as the largest ever rescue operation in Pakistan’s history.
On the other hand, floodwaters from Sutlej had reached near Bahawalpur city, submerging villages and forcing the locals to leave their homes.
INDUS AFFAIRS
Although the Indus River is currently in medium at Guddu and Sukkur, floodwaters breached a dyke in Ghotki in upper Sindh and another in central parts of the province at Naushahro Feroze, inundating several villages and settlements.
Waterflow at Guddu and Sukkur was 506,433 cusecs and 450,150 cusecs respectively.
