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ISLAMABAD: People living in vulnerable riverine areas of Pakistan’s Sindh province should cooperate with authorities and relocate to relief camps in the province, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) urged on Tuesday, as floodwaters from the Punjab province move downstream to enter the southern province.

The government in Sindh has been bracing for a “super flood” in the Indus river as floodwaters rush downstream from Punjab’s Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers, after killing at least 60 people and displacing millions in Pakistan’s breadbasket province.

Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro said the province has “made preparations for a super flood” and is reinforcing weak embankments after inspecting flood defenses as water torrents merge into the Indus, Pakistan’s longest river, threatening towns, farmland and infrastructure.

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a former foreign minister and the chairman of the ruling party in Sindh, on Tuesday visited Guddu and Sukkur barrages on the Indus, where officials briefed him on the latest situation flood situation in Sindh.

“In every eventuality, difficulties are there for people, especially for poor people who live close to river, whether it is medium flood, high flood, very high flood or super flood,” he said, urging residents of riverine areas to cooperate with administration and relocate to safety.

“I believe we should take it seriously. A flood is a flood [even if it is not a super flood].”

He said the provincial government has established relief camps for people, where all facilities are available for their livestock, adding that the arrangements showed the authorities are prepared to deal with any emergency.

“Whatever situation emerges, we want to pe prepared for that,” the PPP chairman told reporters. “From what I am seeing so far, we are prepared, officials are on the ground in their districts, taking care of their people.”

The comments came as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) warned of a fresh spell of rains in Sindh and the neighboring Balochistan province.

It said thundershowers are expected in Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Thatta, Badin, Sujawal, Tharparkar, Umerkot, Sanghar, Dadu, Jacobabad and other districts in the next 24 hours. Intermittent heavy rain is also expected in Sukkur, Rohri, Larkana, Shikarpur, Ghotki and Kashmore.

“Rural and urban areas may be inundated,” the NDMA said. “The public should avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from weak structures and trees, and park vehicles in safe places. Avoid crossing flooded roads and underpasses.”

‘AGRICULTURAL EMERGENCY’

Monsoon season brings Pakistan up to 80 percent of its annual rainfall, but increasingly erratic and extreme weather patterns are turning the annual rains, which are vital for agriculture, food security and the livelihoods of millions of farmers, into a destructive force.

Rains, floods, landslides and similar incidents have killed at least 928 people nationwide since June 26, according to the NDMA. The disaster has revived memories of the 2022 deluges, when a third of the country was submerged, over 1,700 people were killed and losses exceeded $35 billion.

Bhutto-Zardari said the recent floods, which have left a trail of destruction in Pakistan’s breadbasket province of Punjab, have reportedly caused $1.5 billion agricultural losses to the South Asian country, urging federal and provincial authorities to grant relief to farmers.

“I am seeing that in the coming years, there will be difficulties with regard to food security and agricultural issues, and we will have to fight them,” he said.

“I and the Pakistan Peoples Party are of the opinion that we should declare an agricultural emergency nationwide, and whatever can be done by the federal and provincial governments, we must help our Pakistani farmers.”

Separately, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari directed urgent measures to safeguard the country’s food security in the wake of the flood devastation.

“The President stressed the need to protect farmers, ensure uninterrupted availability of essential commodities, and promote modern, climate-resilient agricultural practices,” Zardari’s office said, following his meeting with National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain.

The president urged the ministry to take effective measures to enhance productivity, improve storage and distribution systems, and build long-term resilience in the agriculture sector.

Pakistan ranks among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations and has experienced increasingly erratic, frequent weather events, including heat waves, untimely rains, storms, cyclones and droughts, in recent years, which scientists have blamed on human-driven climate change. In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms in the South Asian country.