Embankments breached, millions affected as Pakistan faces worst floods in decades

Bahawalpur [Pakistan], August 30 (ANI): Pakistan's Punjab continues to reel under monsoon stress due to torrential rains that have resulted in excessive floods, Dawn reported on Saturday.

In Pakistan's Punjab province, specifically in Kasur, the water flow at the Ganda Singh Headworks exceeded the "exceptionally very high" flood level on Friday, crossing the 385,000 cusecs mark, described as the highest in three decades, according to Dawn.

Dawn further reported that in Chunian tehsil, nine villages had been cut off from main roads by the floodwater of the Sutlej. Army and police were deployed to evacuate the area as water levels continued to rise.

Citing officials, Dawn said that Pakistan Punjab's PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said that the Rahimyar embankment would be breached to save Kasur city.

Meanwhile, River Ravi was also swelling and approached "high level flood", which has threatened dozens of villages as the administration issued warnings, made announcements and that an evacuation operation would be started in the next 24 hours.

According to Dawn, the suburbs and rural areas of Bahawalpur and Multan are also under the threat of flooding, with water levels in the Sutlej and Chenab continuing to rise near the cities.

In the outskirts of Bahawalpur, where a small industrial estate is located just close to the riverbed of the Satluj, Dawn reported that authorities fear that rural areas within a two- to three-kilometre proximity of the riverbed could be inundated by flooding.

Pakistan's Punjab province has experienced the worst floods in decades, affecting over 1.46 million people across the province. Dawn reported.

The Punjab government has launched one of its largest evacuation drives in decades, with authorities expecting a rise in the water levels of the Chenab River at Head Trimmu.

The crisis, triggered by heavy monsoon downpours, caused the three rivers to overflow. To contain the pressure, authorities breached embankments at several locations, resulting in flooding that affected over 1,400 villages.

UN News reported that the severe weather is forecast to continue into early September, thereby raising the risk of further flooding, landslides and crop losses, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Pakistan has seen the monsoon season bring widespread destruction in recent years. In 2022, unprecedented floods killed more than 1,700 people, displaced millions, and caused an estimated USD 40 billion in economic losses.

Pakistan faces regular monsoon flooding from June to September, often resulting in deadly landslides, infrastructure damage and large-scale displacement, particularly in densely populated or poorly drained regions. (ANI)

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