Rescuers backed by the military evacuated nearly 100,000 people overnight from the central Pakistani city of Jalalpur Pirwala, and officials said more than 122,000 had been moved from the city in the past 24 hours as floodwaters submerged homes and swept away farmland.
Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority, told reporters that weeks of torrential monsoon rains, cloudbursts and water releases from dams in neighboring India had displaced about 2.2 million people across Punjab since last month. He said more than 3,900 villages in 26 districts had been submerged since Aug. 23 and that about 70% of evacuations from nearby villages had been completed.
Many of those moved sought shelter with relatives, while others are staying in relief camps or makeshift tents. Officials said nearly 80,000 people are currently living in relief camps across Punjab. Survivors described enduring scorching heat, scant donated food and crowded conditions in camps and along roadsides.
"I saw doomsday in the shape of this flood," said Zarini Bibi, 45, who fled her village near Jalalpur Pirwala by boat with her children. "My home, which was my dream and my heaven, is now under water. I barely escaped with my children, and everything we owned has been destroyed." Another displaced resident, Tariq Ullah, said relatives refused to host him and his family and they were living in a roadside tent. "Thank God our lives were saved. A house can be rebuilt, but life is given only once," he said.
Emergency services official Muhammad Bilal said rescuers in boats had moved thousands of people to safety over the past two days, and that military helicopters were dropping relief supplies on the outskirts of Jalalpur Pirwala, where floodwaters rose so quickly many residents had little time to flee. Kathia said thermal imaging drones were used to locate survivors.
Kathia said preparations were under way to carry out controlled breaches of embankments to divert water toward rural areas in order to protect key cities, including Multan, which remained at risk as river levels continued to rise. Officials said such controlled releases are intended to protect densely populated urban centers but acknowledged the moves place rural communities at greater risk of flooding.
Local and provincial authorities said some communities reported little or delayed aid. The government, however, said rescue and relief operations were ongoing and that truckloads of supplies were being dispatched daily.
The National Disaster Management Authority said India on Tuesday again shared river data and noted that one Indian river remained at the danger mark, raising the risk of further cross‑border flooding in Pakistani areas along the border. Nationwide, monsoon flooding since late June has killed more than 900 people, the disaster authority said. In Punjab alone, officials said at least 61 people have died in flood‑related incidents since last month.
Evacuations have also taken place in southern Sindh province, where more than 100,000 people were relocated last week. Sindh was among the worst‑hit regions in the catastrophic 2022 floods, which killed 1,739 people across Pakistan.
Rescue workers and authorities said the scale of the displacement and the speed of rising waters made evacuations difficult. An Associated Press reporter who reached Daryapur village near Jalalpur Pirwala by evacuation boat saw dozens of people stranded on rooftops of homes submerged under several feet of water; many were later taken to safety by rescuers.
Relief organizations and some political groups have begun distributing food and basic supplies, but officials and survivors warned that needs far outstrip current resources. Authorities said they would continue evacuations, relief drops and data sharing with neighboring countries as they monitor rivers and weather forecasts in hopes of preventing further loss of life.