LAHORE: A surging flood in the Ravi River has inundated a private housing society near Chuhang and forced large-scale evacuations in Lahore and adjoining districts, as authorities brace for further inflows released from India.
The Flood Forecasting Division confirmed that water flow at Shahdara’s Siphon point has reached 215,550 cusecs, classifying it as a “very high flood.”
The deluge has already submerged parts of Shahdara, including Farrukhabad and Aziz Colony, while floodwaters entered residential areas such as Badami Bagh, Barkat Colony, Manzoor Garden, Manawan, Amin Park, Afghan Colony and Shafiqabad.
Authorities have evacuated families from vulnerable houses, setting up relief camps in local schools at Farrukhabad, where food and temporary shelter are being provided. Mosque loudspeakers are being used to warn residents, but several families and livestock remain stranded near breached embankments.
Floodwaters have swept into Narang Mandi, destroying thousands of acres of crops and cutting off many villages after roads and communication lines were disrupted. The Ravi has also swamped parts of Narowal, submerging farmland and forcing the closure of the Shakargarh–Narowal Road and the Qila Ahmadabad railway track.
In Chiniot, the protective embankment at Mauza Kalri broke, flooding more than 100 villages as a massive surge of 853,000 cusecs passed through the district. Meanwhile in Sahiwal, the Aurangabad embankment has started to erode, prompting emergency evacuation orders.
Punjab’s Flood Forecasting Department has issued fresh warnings for the Ravi and Chenab rivers, with inflows expected to intensify this evening. A severe surge is forecast to reach Head Trimmu on the Chenab later tonight, while another wave is projected to hit Head Panjnad on September 2.
Emergency teams remain on high alert as authorities warn that the situation could worsen in the coming days, with both urban populations and vast tracts of farmland under threat.
