ISLAMABAD: Flash floods caused by overflowing rivers and breached embankments have directly affected over 4 million people in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, displacing thousands, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) reported on Friday.
A PDMA official told Xinhua that rising waters in the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers are wreaking havoc across Punjab, the country’s most populous province with more than 127 million residents. Hundreds of villages were submerged in the past 24 hours, bringing the total of affected villages to over 4,000 and inundating hundreds of thousands of acres of crops.
According to PDMA data, more than 2 million people trapped by the floods have been relocated to safer areas, amid fears the situation could worsen in the coming days. “Over 800,000 animals were evacuated, and around 400 relief camps, 392 medical camps, and 336 veterinary camps have been set up across the province,” the official said.
India has warned Pakistan that high flood levels at various barrages on the Sutlej River could bring additional surges, potentially causing further flooding.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported that since the torrential rains began on June 26, at least 884 people have died, 1,182 have been injured, 9,363 homes destroyed, and 6,180 cattle lost.
In light of the flooding, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed upcoming by-elections in nine constituencies in Punjab, as communication networks and infrastructure have been severely disrupted.
