ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Friday ordered fresh evacuations as major flood surges coursed down the Ravi and Chenab rivers, threatening towns in the districts of Jhang and Chiniot after weeks of heavy monsoon rains.

The flooding, fueled by record monsoon rains and excess water released from upstream India, has created crisis conditions in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and richest province and home to half the population of 240 million. Authorities have issued evacuation orders around the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers, where record flows have been recorded at barrage points.

Punjab’s Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has said more than 1,600 villages have already been submerged this week, with 17 people killed in the province and over 1.1 million people evacuated from vulnerable areas. Nationwide, Pakistan’s monsoon death toll has climbed past 820 since the season began in June, with rescue agencies struggling to cope with mass displacement across multiple provinces. The army has been called in for relief and rescue operations. 

A PDMA briefing on Friday warned that a surge of 217,000 cusecs was moving down the Ravi River, while a large flood wave in the Chenab was heading toward Jhang. Evacuation orders were issued for the riverine belts of Nankana, Sheikhupura, and Toba Tek Singh, while authorities decided to breach a bridge at Rozwah to divert waters and protect the downstream cities of Jhang and Chiniot.

The combined population off Jhang and Chiniot districts is about 4.63 million people.

“We are establishing tent villages in affected areas and ensuring the provision of basic and medical facilities,” Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman told officials during a high-level meeting according to a statement from his office. 

He said mobile health units known as “Clinics on Wheels” had been dispatched to flood-hit districts and medical camps stocked with essential drugs, including anti-snakebite vaccines.

Officials also considered closing schools in affected areas for a week, while the livestock department was directed to supply feed and vaccines for animals. 

“All relief and rescue demands are being met on the instructions of the chief minister,” Zaman said.

The PDMA forecast heavy rain in the coming days across much of Punjab, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Bahawalpur, warning that river flows could rise further as the ninth spell of the monsoon sweeps through the province.