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ISLAMABAD: At least 33 people have been killed due to torrential rains and floods in Pakistan’s Punjab this week, a senior official confirmed on Sunday, as authorities ramp up rescue and relief activities with nearly 750,000 citizens evacuated to safer locations as deluges devastate the eastern province. 

Punjab, Pakistan’s richest and most prosperous province, has been hit hard by floods triggered by heavy monsoon showers and excess water released by India this week. 

Punjab’s flooding crisis comes amid what the Met Office described as the ninth spell of monsoon rains, expected to continue until Sept. 2 as authorities struggle to provide food, medical aid and protection to citizens in all districts of the province affected by dangerously rising water levels in rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. 

“As per the latest death reported in Chiniot, the total number of flood-related deaths has risen to 33 [this week],” Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Punjab Irfan Ali Kathia told reporters during a news briefing. 

He said nearly 750,000 people had been evacuated from high-risk flood areas to safer locations while at least 2,200 villages in Punjab and over 2 million people had been affected by the floods, warning that both numbers were continuing to rise. 

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz separately wrote on social media platform X that the province was reaching out to every person in the province via rescue and relief activities. 

“The result is 746,664 human evacuations and close to 500,000 animal/livestock evacuations in just a few days,” she wrote.

Monsoon showers have wreaked devastation in Pakistan this year, with heavy rains killing at least 831 people and injuring 1,121 others since Jun. 26, as per the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) latest situation report. 

Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported the highest number of deaths, 480, followed by Punjab with 191, Sindh with 58, northern Gilgit-Baltistan region with 41 casualties, Azad Kashmir 29 deaths, Balochistan 24 and Islamabad eight since June. 

WATER LEVELS RISE

Briefing the media about surging water levels in Pakistan’s rivers, Kathia warned that a flow of around 900,000 cusecs is passing through the Chenab river in the eastern Jhang district, creating a critical situation.

He said a potentially dangerous situation can develop at Islam Headworks on river Sutlej within the next few hours as the flow of water has exceeded 100,000 cusecs at Head Sulemanki. 

He further said that river Ravi had already experienced a discharge of 200,000 cusecs of water while at Balloki, the water level was recorded at 211,000 cusecs with an additional 20,000 cusecs flowing from Nankana Sahib. 

The PDMA has previously reported that India’s Bhakra Dam is currently 84 percent full, Pong 94 percent, and Thein 92 percent, raising concerns of further cross-boundary water surges. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of releasing excess flows into downstream rivers during monsoon peaks, intensifying flood risks in Punjab’s agricultural belt.

Officials have warned that the flood threat is likely to spread further south, with the NDMA cautioning that the Indus River at Guddu and Sukkur barrages is expected to reach very high flood levels between Sept. 4–5.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s meteorological authority on Saturday issued a warning of imminent Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the high mountains of the north, even as monsoon-driven floods ravage Punjab, displacing hundreds of thousands and inundating towns, roads and farmlands.

GLOF, sudden surges of water released when glacial lake barriers collapse, can unleash torrents through downstream valleys. This monsoon, GLOFs have already destroyed infrastructure and stranded tourists across Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid relentless rains and flash flooding.

“The hydro-meteorological data from the stations installed at Arkari, Badswat, Darkut, Hisper Hoper, Ghundus and Gulkin under GLOF-II Project indicates a significant rise in temperature values, much higher than normal, which may accelerate glacier melt,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said. “There is an increased probability of GLOF and flash floods in the aforementioned locations in particular, and in other areas generally.”

The GLOF-II Project monitors glacier-fed basins in northern Pakistan, including Arkari in Chitral, Badswat and Darkut in Ghizer, Hisper Hoper in Nagar, Ghundus in Shigar and Gulkhin in Hunza, aiming to detect early warnings of glacial melt–induced flooding.

The PMD warning comes at a time when the country is witnessing a fresh monsoon spell which led to urban flooding in places like Peshawar in KP and Lahore in Punjab.

With tens of thousands of farming families uprooted in various districts of Punjab, living in tent cities after losing their standing crops and animals, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced it would offer free voice calls to users in flood-hit areas.

“This facility will enable even those customers with zero balance to remain connected with their families and access emergency services during this challenging time,” the PTA said.

Monsoon floods have claimed more than 830 lives nationwide since the beginning of the season in late June.

Authorities warn of a potential repeat of the catastrophic 2022 monsoon season, when over 1,700 people died and the country suffered more than $30 billion in damage.