As the Sutlej river continued to experience high levels of flooding at Sulemanki Headworks on Wednesday, an additional 3,000 people were relocated to safer locations, according to Radio Pakistan.
As the Sutlej river continued to experience high levels of flooding at Sulemanki Headworks on Wednesday, an additional 3,000 people were relocated to safer locations, according to Radio Pakistan.
Imran Qureshi, director general of the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), was quoted as saying that nearly 3,000 people and livestock had been relocated to safer locations.
The official went on to say that 58 medical camps were operating and that rescue and relief efforts were continuing around the clock in the province’s flood-affected areas thanks to the efforts of over 700 rescue workers.
The Sulemanki Headworks experienced a high-level flood with a flow of water of 155,330 cusecs, the PDMA stated in a statement earlier today.
It was also noted that the Ganda Singh Wala Barrage’s flood level had decreased from high to medium, with a flow of 118,652 cusecs.
The PDMA warned that the water level at the Islam Headworks was rising quickly and that there was a low-level flood there with a flow of water of 73,559 cusecs.
The map below, which was provided by the PMD’s Lahore Flood Forecasting Division, shows the direction of the water flow at each of the three locations today at noon.
The authority also informed the local government that a high-level flood at Islam Headworks was expected within the next 24 hours.
The PDMA issued a warning that, despite the fact that other rivers in Punjab had “normal” flood levels, there was a chance that Mangla in the Jhelum River would experience a high-level flood in the ensuing three days.
The same was predicted by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), which foresaw “sharp peaks of medium- to high-level floods” at Mangla from August 24 to 25.
In addition, it issued the following caution: “Flows in the Sutlej River may rise again subject to [water] releases from India.”
As for the upper catchments of all major rivers, the forecast stated that “scattered to widespread wind-thunderstorm/rain of moderate intensity with isolated heavy falls” was anticipated.
The Punjab PDMA earlier today issued a flood warning alert that instructed the local government to maintain enough staffing around the clock. Additionally, it mandated the demolition of settlements along the Sutlej River and the maintenance of breaching sites.
Rescue 1122 was also instructed by the PDMA to maintain “high alert” status and have enough emergency response personnel and equipment available during the anticipated period.
Rescue operations
The PDMA DG stated in another statement that during the previous 24 hours, 769 officials had been stationed in various flood-affected districts, including Bahawalnagar, Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Vihari, Multan, and Lodhran.
Qureshi added that 44 relief camps had been established, over 2,000 people had received medical attention, and a total of 113 villages had been affected by flooding in the previous 24 hours.
Around 1,200 people received emergency transportation, and 2,616 people who were trapped in floods were rescued immediately, according to him.
Over 1,500 people received cooked food, according to the PDMA DG, and the floods have affected more than 85,000 acres of land.
Qureshi also went to areas of Okara that had experienced flooding, where he evaluated the ongoing relief efforts and interacted with the local administrative staff.
Separately, Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed urged the local administration to maintain vigilance and declared that aid operations would continue until the residents had been evacuated and rehabilitated.
According to Farooq Ahmad, a spokesman for the Punjab emergency services, a total of 100,000 people have been saved and relocated to safer locations as of this writing, according to AFP.
According to the interim chief minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, monsoon rains forced Indian authorities to release extra reservoir water into the Sutlej river, which led to flooding downstream on the Pakistani side of the border.
The PDMA has released data showing that from July 9 to August 22, there were 16 flood-related fatalities and 36 injuries. To date, 1,489 rescuers and 408 boats have participated in rescue operations.
