Punjab Faces Record Floods, Millions at Risk
Pakistan’s Punjab province is facing what officials are calling the biggest flood in its history, and the situation is nothing short of devastating. Over two million people are believed to be at risk, as rivers have swelled to dangerous levels and vast areas of farmland and villages have been submerged. This disaster has been fueled by heavier-than-normal monsoon rains and an overflow of water released from dams in neighboring India, sending torrents into low-lying regions.
According to provincial leaders, this is the first time in living memory that the Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi rivers have all reached such dangerously high levels at the same time. Local authorities have been scrambling to move people to safety. Schools, police stations, and other government buildings have been turned into makeshift shelters. Television footage has shown families loading their belongings onto rescue boats, trying to salvage whatever little they can from homes now standing in waist-deep water. For many, the only choice left has been to leave behind everything and flee.
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Rescue operations have been ramped up with the use of military support and even drones, which have been deployed to locate people stranded on rooftops. Officials reported that nearly a million people have already been evacuated, along with hundreds of thousands of livestock. Still, the numbers paint a grim picture: countless villages in Multan, Jhang, Narowal, and Kasur are completely under water. Families have been forced to take shelter on roadside embankments, many without food, tents, or basic supplies. One woman described her plight simply: “We have been destroyed. Everything is gone in the flood.”
The human suffering is compounded by the fear of what lies ahead. Punjab is not just Pakistan’s most populated province, but also the backbone of its agriculture, producing much of the country’s wheat. Fields are now submerged, and memories of the catastrophic 2022 floods, which wiped out crops and triggered food shortages, remain painfully fresh. Officials have warned that if water levels rise further, entire districts could be at risk of what they call a “super flood,” where the flow surpasses 900,000 cubic feet per second.
Since late June, nearly 850 people have already lost their lives across Pakistan in rain-related incidents, and thousands more have been injured. The monsoon season is expected to continue through September, leaving little room for relief. In the meantime, the government’s focus has been on saving lives, moving people to safer places, and preventing further tragedy.
For the people of Punjab, however, survival is now a daily struggle. Many sit by the roadside, waiting for help that has yet to arrive, while others cling to their damaged homes out of fear of looters. Their lives, livelihoods, and sense of security have all been swept away in the floodwaters. What remains is uncertainty, exhaustion, and the desperate hope that the rains will finally end before more lives are lost.
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