Water rising at Marala, people start evacuating

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The Chenab River was again in extremely high flood at Marala in Gujrat district on Wednesday with the waterflow increasing as India released water from the reservoirs in Occupied Kashmir a day earlier.

On late Tuesday night, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) had issued an alert for high-level flood in Marala downstream of River Chenab, instructing the public to adopt precautionary measures and cooperate with district administration and rescue agencies.

Just over two hours earlier, the PDMA had warned that Chenab would be in high-level flood for the next 24 hours Wednesday at Marala, Khanki, and Qadirabad.

Read more: Chenab to be in high flood level again at Marala, Khanki, Qadirabad

Around 4pm. the waterflow at Marala Headworks was recorded at 548,235 cusecs.

The current situation looks ominous for downstream as a high flood would soon be visible at Khanki and Qadirabad headworks which serves the areas submerged by the previous surge in Chenab.

EASERN RIVERS

But it isn’t just Chenab as India released more water in Ravi and Sutlej too, meaning that the flood level was again on the rise at Jassar, Narowal, and Ganda Singh Wala, Kasur.

Hence, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej are in high flood at multiple points along their respective paths.

The two eastern rivers — Ravi and Sutlej — were already inundating a vast areas along their path downstream of Balloki and Ganda Singh Wala — both in Kasur.

In this scenario, the deluge in Sutlej was producing in extreme pressure on embankments around the Islam Headworks in Bahawalpur district after passing through Pakpattan, Bahawalnagar and Vehari.

Meanwhile, authorities decided in Kasur to blow up protective levee at Fattuhi Wala — a village near Ganda Singh Wala. They had made the preparation to carry out the operation on Tuesday night with aim to release pressure in the Sutlej River.

However, the move would inundate more than 10 villages.

The decision was a result of a exceptionally high flood in Sutlej which, according to the Flood Forecasting Division (FFD), had touched 311,000 cusecs at 5pm. It was 269,501 cusecs at 6am.

The gushing waters of Sutlej have been caused land erosion and have submerged 25,000 acres in more than 77 villages just in Kasur, with the affected area certainly expanding in the coming days.

With the flood already submerging these areas last week, the rising flow in Ravi and Sutlej would only increase miseries for the locals who have lost standing crops, cattle and homes.

PERSISTENT RAINS

On the other hand, Gujrat, Sialkot and other parts of northeastern Punjab received more downpour during the past 24 hours, multiplying the problems faced by the flood-affected people and the government which busy in relief and rescue efforts.

In Gujrat, it kept raining for 14 hours.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the current monsoon would continue affecting the upper parts of Pakistan for the next 24 to 48 hours.

With the climate change hitting Pakistan, India and other countries in the region hard, the powerful interest groups associated with fossil fuels are still manufacturing “studies” to deny the scientifically-proven phenomenon.

Read more: Experts blast Trump climate report, giant iceberg starts vanishing

The worst floods in four decades have killed at least 43 people in Punjab, with more than 3.3 million affected since August 26, the PDMA said.

The death toll across the country since the start of the monsoon season in late June stands at 881, according to the NDMA.

It’s a developing story. Details to follow.