The flood crisis in south Punjab intensified on Friday as with rivers Chenab and Sutlej breaching embankments and submerging dozens of villages. This flood spell has claimed at least 68 lives across the province as per the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and left scores injured.
River water from the Chenab engulfed large parts of Sher Shah in Multan. Flood waves as high as 12 to 14 feet washed away dozens of settlements. Boats were summoned to evacuate stranded families, who had rushed to their rooftops to escape the flood.
Displaced residents from inundated Basti Khoor have set up camp along the Sikandari canal embankment, where many families are living in the open. Tents are limited, and livestock and household goods are scattered along a one-kilometre stretch near the canal. Rescue and relief teams were yet to reach the site by the time this report was filed.
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Meanwhile, Sutlej River swept through dozens of villages in Vehari and Bahawalpur districts. Hundreds of homes, schools and dispensaries were destroyed.
In Vehari, water levels at Head Islam were reported to be 102,000 cusecs, and over 335,000 cusecs at Head Ganda Singh. Discharge at Head Siphon stood at 93,000 cusecs and at Head Mian Haakim outfall touched nearly 200,000 cusecs. Several protective embankments gave away and Kuttabpur Wagi, Jhoke Fazil, Jhoke Jando, Jhoke Sathu, Kaliya Shah and Hasan Shah villages, among others, were completely submerged.
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Similarly in Bahawalpur, the Sutlej caused widespread destruction with over 90% of protective embankments collapsing. The flood water surged into over a 100 villages, as high as 100,000 cusecs at Empress Bridge for instance.
Emergency medical support was rolled out through 26 “clinic-on-wheels” units and a field hospital at Jhangra Sharqi. Livestock vaccination campaigns were launched as well. Some 82 schools were converted into temporary relief camps.
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The district administration said around 42,000 people and nearly 25,000 livestock have been relocated. The floods devastated residential settlements besides thousands of acres of sugarcane, maize, sesame crops and fodder.
According to the PDMA, nearly 4,000 mouzas (pieces of land) have been affected across Punjab, leaving near 3.9 million people impacted. Of these, 1.8 million people are evacuaees. Relief agencies have established as many as 416 relief camps, 356 medical camps and 318 veterinary camps. Over 1.3 million livestock has also been moved to safer ground.
Water levels also remained high at Kot Mithan and Rojhan in Rajanpur district. At the former, water level was recorded at 490,000 cusecs. As per PDMA data, since mid-June at least 183 people have died, 646 injured and 237 houses have been destroyed in monsoon rains and flooding across Punjab. As many as 121 cattle have perished. District data shows heavy losses in Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh and Vehari.
