Over 19,000 people have been evacuated from multiple flood-affected areas due to torrential rains and floods that occurred in Pakistan’s Punjab, issuing a high alert across the province, Dawn reported on Sunday.
Pak Govt Evacuates Thousands Amid High Alert
The Punjab government evacuated thousands along the Sutlej River on Saturday. Rescue 1122 spokesperson Farooq Ahmad confirmed that over 19,000 people were evacuated from multiple flood-affected areas of the province, as reported by Dawn.
It reported that the epicentre of the crisis remains Sutlej, where authorities were focusing on evacuation efforts. With the new monsoon spell impending, the next 96 hours are critical for Pakistan’s Punjab.
The rain spell is also expected to bring heavy rain and flash floods to Gilgit-Baltistan, a region already reeling from successive floods, Dawn reported.
The situation remains dire as survivors in the flood-hit areas face a shortage of water for drinking and irrigation. Dawn cited Israruddin Israr, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan GB coordinator, who said that 330 households, comprising over 3,000 individuals, had become internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the recent glacial lake outburst flood in Talidas village in Ghizer district.
The number of IDPs in this incident is the second-largest since the 2010 Attabad disaster, he said. UN News reported that the severe weather is forecast to continue into early September, thereby raising the risk of further flooding, landslides and crop losses, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Pakistan faces regular monsoon flooding from June to September, often resulting in deadly landslides, infrastructure damage and large-scale displacement, particularly in densely populated or poorly drained regions. (ANI Inputs)
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