MUZAFFARGARH, Pakistan (AP) — Rivers are swelling to dangerous levels in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, forcing more than half a million people to flee their homes in the past 24 hours, officials said Thursday.
The latest evacuations bring the total number of people displaced since last month to 1.8 million, according to Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabeel Javed. He said mass evacuations were still ongoing in the flood-hit Muzaffargarh district and other areas.
Muzaffargarh and Multan are among the worst-hit areas in the province, where floods have inundated 3,900 villages since the Ravi, Sutlej, and Chenab rivers burst their banks two weeks ago, Javed said.
In Muzaffargarh, Narowal and Kasur the government has erected tents for displaced families.
People who fled their homes in Muzaffargarh described rushing to safety after urgent flood warnings.
Ghulam Abbas, 54, who fled his village with his family, said Thursday that mosque loudspeakers announced a massive flood surge was on its way, urging everyone to leave as soon as possible.
“Those who thought the waters wouldn’t reach them are now being rescued by boat,” Abbas said, adding that his home was submerged overnight.
Zainab Akhtar, 33, said she lost her home in the devastating 2010 floods. “Now it has happened again,” she said as she sat inside a government-donated tent with her family.
Akhtar said she has received some food from charities and the government, but added that many survivors were relying on help from relatives.
In Kasur, people said they received some help from the government, and charities arranged food for them.
Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the provincial Disaster Management Authority, said thousands of rescuers are taking part in the relief and rescue operations, while the military has been deployed to transport people and animals from flooded villages.
“Supplies are on the way for the displaced people, and one of the largest rescue and relief operations is still ongoing,” Kathia said. He added that authorities made some breaches along the embankment of the Chenab river overnight Wednesday to protect Muzaffargarh city.
“Our priority is to save lives as this is the worst flooding in Punjab’s history,” Kathia said, adding that heavy monsoon rains and water released from dams in India have pushed rivers to dangerous levels.
India sent an alert to Islamabadthrough diplomatic channels Thursday about the possible cross-border flooding. It was the third such alert this week.
“ Overall, 3.8 million people have been affected by the flooding in Punjab,” Javed said in a statement. He said the affected include those who suffered damages after their villages were flooded.
The National Disaster Management Authority on Thursday said the new spell of monsoon rains is expected to persist for another 24 to 48 hours, adding that floodwaters are likely to surge into the Indus river, posing a threat to areas in southern Sindh province.
The latest floods are the worst since 2022, when climate-induced flooding killed nearly 1,700 people in Pakistan.
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Dogar reported from Kasur, Pakistan. Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this story.
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