The Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) has suspended electricity supply to more than 113,000 consumers across 13 districts of South Punjab as a precautionary measure following a rise in floodwater levels.
According to officials, electric supply from 151 feeders has been disconnected at the transformer level under safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) to prevent accidents and safeguard lives.
In Sahiwal district, power supply to 15,610 consumers on nine feeders was cut off due to flooding. The supply to 7,685 consumers has been restored after the floodwater receded.
In Bahawalpur, 10,987 consumers on 22 feeders were also affected.
Similarly, 13 feeders in Lodhran with 924 consumers, 13 in Pakpattan with 6,167 consumers and five in Rahim Yar Khan with 1,509 consumers have been switched off.
The situation was also critical in Vehari, where 23,395 consumers on 15 feeders have been disconnected.
Other affected districts include Khanewal with 20,933 consumers on 14 feeders, Bahawalnagar with 6,992 consumers on 20 feeders, Rajanpur with 124 consumers on two feeders, Dera Ghazi Khan with two consumers on one feeder, Muzaffargarh with 10,114 consumers on 20 feeders, and Kot Addu with 275 consumers on one feeder.
Flood relief camps have been established by MEPCO in all districts, headed by SDOs and XENs, with line staff working around the clock.
Teams were monitoring floodwater levels and remained on alert to respond to any emergencies and restore electricity as soon as conditions improved, MEPCO sources added.
According to Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed, more than 4.15 million people across 4,150 villages have been affected by floods in the Ravi, Sutlej.and Chenab rivers. Of these, over two million people have been relocated to safe areas, while rescue efforts are ongoing in severely inundated regions. An official report confirms the loss of 56 lives so far.
Standing crops on thousands of acres have been destroyed, particularly in Bahawalnagar, Multan.and Kabirwala. In Bahawalnagar, 143 villages were submerged, forcing over 100,000 residents to migrate. Similar devastation has been reported in Kabirwala, where floodwaters from the Ravi submerged 40 villages, leaving more than 80,000 people homeless.Authorities have set up 423 relief camps, 512 medical camps and 432 veterinary camps across affected districts. Alongside the evacuation of people, more than 1.5 million livestock have also been shifted to safer locations.In Multan’s Jalalpur Pirwala tehsil, the worst-hit area due to its location at the confluence of the Sutlej and Chenab rivers, over 50 villages have been inundated.
Multan City Police Officer (CPO) Sadiq Ali confirmed that 14 army boats, eight boats from Rescue 1122 and five hired by the police are engaged in the rescue mission, bringing the total to 27 boats. In Manga Mandi, Rescue 1122 teams shifted nine people trapped in Ravi floodwaters to safety.
The protective dykes in Kahror Pakka, Rathanwala, Mochiwala.and Dera Dilawar have collapsed, allowing water to rapidly flow towards populated areas.
In Bahawalnagar and Chishtian, breaches in temporary embankments built by locals have cut off dozens of villages from nearby cities.
The situation worsened after a dyke in Alipur gave way, submerging additional settlements.
With a fresh spell of rains, authorities fear more releases from Indian dams, which could aggravate the crisis downstream in Punjab.
The Flood Forecasting Division reported extremely high water flows: 543,000 cusecs at Trimmu and 489,000 cusecs at Panjnad in the Chenab, 152,000 cusecs at Baloki in Ravi, and a very high flood at Sutlej’s Ganda Singh Wala point. High-level flooding has also been recorded at Shahdara, Sadhanai and Head Sulemanki.
