Rescuers backed by the military raced to evacuate thousands of people from flooded villages near the city of Jalalpur Pirwala in eastern Pakistan as swollen rivers reached officially declared danger levels, authorities said Tuesday.
Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed said the flooding has affected nearly 142,000 people in the immediate area around Jalalpur Pirwala, where heavy machinery and bulldozers were working to reinforce embankments. Since Aug. 23, about 4,000 villages across Punjab have been submerged, impacting more than 4.2 million people, displacing roughly 2.1 million and killing at least 68, according to the Punjab Disaster Management Authority. Officials warned that water from the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers — all at high flood — would flow downstream into Sindh later in the week, prompting evacuations there as well.
Rescue crews in boats crisscrossed the standing waters Wednesday, pulling people from trees and rooftops, officials and survivors said. Many displaced residents have slept on embankments or in relief camps after their homes were submerged; others moved in with relatives. An Associated Press reporter saw families standing knee-deep in muddy water waiting for rescue boats.
Some survivors said those with money had been able to hire private boats to leave earlier, leaving poorer villagers to wait for official help. "Those who could pay owners of private boats have already left the village," said Bilal Ahmed from a relief camp. "I paid money to use a private boat to leave my village." Another evacuee, Muhammad Arshad, wept as he boarded a rescue boat and said his wife and children remained trapped in their flooded home. Saima Hussain, 35, who fled by evacuation boat, said she saw rescuers pull a woman’s body from the water while the woman’s baby clung to her chest. "For two days, he hasn’t had milk," Hussain said, holding her own infant.
Provincial authorities have pressed emergency workers and military units into service to shore up embankments around Jalalpur Pirwala, a city of about 700,000 that sits near the confluence of the Chenab and Sutlej rivers before they flow south toward Sindh. Officials said a breach could put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk. Irfan Ali Kathia, director general of the provincial disaster management authority, said more rescue boats had been dispatched and expressed confidence the city would be saved, while also faulting villagers for ignoring repeated warnings.
The floods are the result of heavier-than-normal monsoon rains compounded by repeated releases of water from overflowing Indian dams, authorities said. Torrential rains also flooded streets in Karachi on Wednesday, authorities reported, underscoring the widespread nature of the crisis. Since late June, flooding across Pakistan has killed more than 900 people.
Relief operations face logistical challenges as food supplies run short in many camps. Displaced families in roadside tents waited for food as children cried and women prayed for the waters to recede. Survivors and officials said rationing and limited deliveries meant many families were receiving only one meal a day in some areas.
Humanitarian groups and government agencies have been scrambling to move people out of harm's way and to deliver food, water and medical assistance. Provincial and national authorities continue to monitor river gauges and weather forecasts as they coordinate evacuations downstream in Sindh. Officials have urged residents in low-lying areas to heed evacuation orders and to seek higher ground.
The scale of the flooding has strained local capacities, and authorities warned of further displacement and damage if rivers remain at or above danger levels. Relief agencies said immediate needs include safe shelter, drinking water, infant food and medical care for those affected by the floods.
Officials and survivors said the coming days would be critical as floodwaters move south, and they appealed for aid to meet the urgent needs of millions already displaced across Punjab and other provinces.