ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s federal capital issued a flood alert on Monday amid heavy rains, as swollen rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej continued to swell from downpours and cross-border water releases, raising the risk of fresh inundations across the Punjab province and beyond.
The warning came after days of devastation in Punjab, where more than two million people have been affected, with more than 3,100 villages inundated. More than 900,000 people and 600,000 animals have been evacuated, and at least 41 people have died in less than a week, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.
Nationwide, rains and floods have killed 863 people since June 26 when the monsoon season began.
The emergency has revived memories of the catastrophic 2022 deluge, when a third of Pakistan was submerged, more than 1,700 people were killed, 30 million displaced and damages estimated at $35 billion.
“Rain in the federal capital, district administration on high alert,” the deputy commissioner of Islamabad said in a statement as he issued orders for “special monitoring of low-lying areas and drains.”
Muhammad Nasir Butt, spokesperson for the deputy commissioner, told Arab News most parts of the capital remained unaffected by the rains, with only minor water accumulation reported. He said teams were working in the D-12 neighborhood and on Margalla Road to clear water patches.
“A total of 42 millimeters of rain was recorded today at Saidpur village, but conditions have cleared and there is no major flooding in the federal capital,” Butt added.
A PDMA update issued on Monday reported the Chenab flowing at 91,940 cusecs at Marala Headworks, 136,039 at Khanki, and 159,940 at Qadirabad, with Trimmu recording 550,965 cusecs and steady. At Chiniot Bridge, water was at 132,675 cusecs and rising.
On the Ravi, Balloki registered 152,415 cusecs and steady, while Sidhnai recorded 99,250 cusecs and rising. The Sutlej was flowing at 253,068 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala, 124,274 at Sulemanki, and 121,013 at Panjnad.
“All relevant departments are on alert due to water being released into the Chenab by India,” Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab, told reporters. “Punjab is monitoring the situation in the rivers round the clock.”
Kathia warned of an “extremely high flood level” at Balloki on the Ravi, while Panjnad, the confluence of Punjab’s five rivers, was expected to swell to nearly one million cusecs between Sept. 2–3.
Separately, Pakistan’s commissioner for Indus Waters circulated a letter to government departments citing an Indian High Commission warning of possible “high flood” levels at Harike and Ferozepur on the Sutlej.
India routinely releases excess water from its reservoirs when they reach capacity, under arrangements governed by the Indus Waters Treaty.
