Rescuers in Pakistan raced to evacuate tens of thousands of people stranded by floods, with many left without food or medical supplies Friday as the government struggled to provide aid and prevent Lahore and other cities from deluges.
The floods in the eastern Punjab province began Monday when an abnormal amount of rain triggered sudden water releases from Indian dams on the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers. The rising floodwaters were the first to hit the region in four decades.
New Delhi last week alerted Islamabad about potential cross-border flooding. Since then, nearly 300,000 people have been evacuated from flood-hit areas, said Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority. More than 1 million have been affected.
Around 20 people have died in this week’s floods in Punjab, raising the nationwide death toll to 820 since flash floods in late June, Kathia said.
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, visited flood-hit areas of Narowal district on Friday to review rescue and relief operations.
Nearly 1,100 relief and medical camps are operating in the province to provide temporary shelter and treatment, with more medical camps being set up in flood-hit areas, he added.
Floodwater inundated some villages near Lahore, raising fears in the city.
On Friday, authorities and the military made controlled breaches in protective embankments at several points along the overflowing Chenab River to reduce pressure and protect major cities, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. It said water levels in rivers remain dangerously high and warned that further rainfall could worsen flooding.
Authorities have struggled to respond to the floods. Many people said Friday they were still without any government help and urgently needed food and medical supplies.
An Associated Press reporter on Thursday saw village after village underwater. Floodwaters covered fields and streets and thousands of people sat along the roadsides. Many had fled their homes in haste, carrying little or no food.
“We are in great misery. Neither the government nor anyone else has come to inquire about us,” said Mohammad Saleem, a farmer in Narowal, sitting on a road surrounded by water with hundreds of other people.
Rana Hanan, a lecturer at Narowal University, said more than 100 houses in his community were destroyed. “When the water came, people saved themselves on their own,” he said.
In some areas, residents clung to rooftops awaiting rescue, while those who reached higher ground reported hunger, skin infections, and diarrhea.
Private charity Sahara Foundation has set up a medical camp in Kartarpur village to treat those suffering from illnesses caused by a lack of clean water and food.
Dr. Bilal Siddiq, a senior physician with Sahara Foundation, said 50 nearby villages remain submerged. “Fungal and skin infections are everywhere,” he said. “We’re also seeing rising cases of diarrhea, gastric pain, and malaria.”
Haji Amjad, 45, showed his infected feet as he sat outside his flooded home for a fourth day. “My whole-body itches, my stomach hurts, and there’s no medicine,” he said.
But even as water levels begin to recede in some areas, some residents say their problems are mounting. With fodder destroyed, livestock are falling sick without veterinary care.
Nargis Bibi, 45, broke down as she described how floods had ruined her grain stores. “The floods have destroyed everything. Only our lives remain,” she said.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said in a statement Friday that damage to homes, crops, and livestock is being assessed and promised that all losses would be compensated.
She added that her priority is saving lives and delivering aid to displaced people, and urged residents in flood-hit areas to move to safer locations.
Reports of new possible flooding have sparked panic in Sindh where 2022 flooding killed hundreds of people, claiming a total of 1,739 lives across the country.
In Indian-controlled Kashmir, the floods have killed nearly 100 people, according to Indian officials.
The crisis in Pakistan’s Punjab province underscores the growing challenges of climate change, with the country ranked among the 10 most vulnerable.
