JHANG, Pakistan: Emergency workers in Pakistan’s Punjab province used drones to find people stranded on rooftops by massive floods as the government expanded what it called its largest rescue operation, with more than 700,000 evacuated, officials said Monday.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department warned of more heavy rain in Punjab’s flood-hit districts and elsewhere in the country, where weeks of above-normal rainfall and the release of huge volumes of water from dams in neighboring India last week caused rivers to overflow into low-lying regions.

In Multan and Jhang districts, residents on Monday waded through floodwaters carrying their belongings to roadsides and higher ground. They said they had waited for rescuers before crossing on their own nearly 5-foot (1 1/2-meter) -deep water to reach safety, while many others remained stranded.

Since last week, rescuers, backed by the military and emergency services, have evacuated more than 700,000 people, said Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority. More than 500,000 farm animals were also moved to safety, he said.

“We are handling an unprecedented situation, and we are responding to the country’s biggest-ever floods by using the latest technology and all available resources to save lives,” Kathia told The Associated Press. The Punjab government said drones were deployed this week in Multan, Jhang and other districts.

“Our priority is to save lives and ensure a steady supply of essential items to survivors,” Kathia said. 

The deluge has swamped Narowal, Sialkot and Kasur districts while entire villages have been submerged in Jhang and Multan.

‘Everything is gone’

On dusty roadside embankments, displaced families complained of being abandoned.

“We have been destroyed. Everything is gone in the flood,” said Haleema Bibi, 54, who fled her damaged home in Jhang with seven relatives. They now shelter under the open sky without tents or food.

“Whatever we had to eat has nearly finished. You can see how miserably we are living,” she told The Associated Press.

Allah Ditta, a farmer from the same district, said he and his neighbors slept on plastic sheets and carts. “Rescuers came once by boat, but no one has brought us supplies. We keep looking to the road, hoping someone will come with help,” he said.

Authorities in Punjab say they had set up more than 1,000 relief camps, but government figures show that only about 36,550 of over 800,000 evacuees are housed in them. It is unclear where the vast majority were staying.

Evacuations also took place in southern Sindh province, where Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah warned of a possible “super flood” of the Indus River if water levels top 900,000 cubic feet per second.

Officials blame the catastrophic flooding on weeks of heavier-than-normal monsoon rains, compounded by cross-border waters released from India’s swollen rivers and dams last week. The Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers rose simultaneously, inundating wide swaths of farmland and villages.

India had alerted Pakistan about the water release, marking the rivals’ first public diplomatic contact since a military crisis brought them to the brink of war in May.

Punjab, home to some 150 million people and the country’s main wheat-growing region, has recorded 33 flood-related deaths in 10 days — far fewer than the catastrophic 2022 floods — but damage is widespread.

Pakistan’s weather center said Punjab received 26.5 percent more monsoon rainfall between July 1 and Aug. 27 compared with the same period last year. Nationwide, at least 854 people have died in rain-related incidents since late June.

Pakistan’s monsoon season typically lasts until the end of September.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday called for the immediate halt of Israel’s military hostilities in Gaza, reiterating Islamabad’s stance of supporting a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis at the regional Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China.

Sharif’s statement at the 25th Council of Heads of State summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tianjin came as Israel pushes ahead with the initial stages of a new military offensive in Gaza. At least 63,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, as per the Gaza Health Ministry. 

“We reiterate our call for an immediate end to this gruesome violence and heart wrenching bloodshed in Gaza,” Sharif said. “Pakistan has consistently supported the UN-mandated two-state solution that is the creation of an independent state of Palestine with pre-1967 borders and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”

Israeli restrictions on the entry of supplies into Gaza since Israel began its military operations there nearly two years ago have led to shortages of food and essential supplies, including medicine and fuel, which hospitals require to power their generators.

A global hunger monitor said last month that Gaza and its surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, adding that it will likely spread. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system said 514,000 people — nearly a quarter of Palestinians in Gaza — are experiencing famine and that is due to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.

“The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is a festering wound on our collective conscience,” Sharif said. 

Pakistan, as well as other countries around the world, have increased calls for Israel to desist from its military operations in Gaza after Israel’s government approved a plan last month to take over the territory.