ISLAMABAD: The overall death toll from monsoon rains in Pakistan since Jun. 26 have surged to 985, official figures said on Monday, as the country continues to reel from floodwaters which are now receding in Punjab and flowing downstream toward the southern Sindh province.
Pakistan has reported 985 deaths from flash floods, house collapses, landsliding and other rain-related incidents since the onset of the monsoon season in June. The northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has reported the highest deaths, 504, followed by Punjab with 287 casualties, Sindh with 80 deaths, Gilgit-Baltistan with 41 deaths, Azad Kashmir with 38 casualties, Balochistan 26 and Islamabad nine.
Moreover, floods in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province have killed 104 people since late August, affected over 4.5 million and inundated thousands of acres of farmland, authorities say. Water levels in Pakistan’s Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers had swollen due to heavy monsoon rains and excess water released by Indian dams. These water levels are now receding in Punjab as the floods head downstream toward Sindh.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab said in report on Sunday that the water level at Sindh’s Guddu Barrage, one of the two main barrages that channels water toward southern and central Sindh, has now reached a level of 635,759 cusecs of water inflows and 606,489 cusecs of water outflow. The report said the water level is expected to rise to 650,000–700,000 cusecs by the night of Sept. 15.
“The flood will remain across Sindh through September before sinking into the Arabian Sea by month-end,” the PDMA said.
It said flood levels have “receded considerably” at river Ravi, reporting that all stations are now in the normal to medium range and no longer at the very-high peaks which were reported earlier. At Sutlej, the PDMA reported the water was flowing downstream, with earlier surges having stabilized as the downstream stress across Kasur, Okara, Bahawalnagar and Vehari districts continues to subside.
At Chenab, the report said Trimmu Headworks, one of its major control points, has subsided to normal levels and is no longer reporting a high flood level. Water flows at upstream stations such as Marala, Khanki and Qadirabad are also within normal limits, the PDMA said.
“Panjnad, however, remains in very high flood at 369,085 cusecs, though receding compared with its fresh peak on Sep. 11-12,” the report said.
Regarding the Indus River, the PDMA said the Sukkur Barrage is likely to receive 600,000 cusecs by Sept. 17-18.
“Flows will then take 8–10 days to reach Kotri Barrage, with peak discharges expected in the range of 400,000–450,000 cusecs by 24–26 Sep,” the PDMA’s report said.
The PDMA said that the water stress is now consolidated at Panjnad, a key river confluence in southern Punjab where all five major rivers merge. It said the Indus flood wave was building up at Guddu Barrage and was expected to move downstream in the coming fortnight.
“Current stress has shifted to Kandhkot, Ubaro, Kashmore, Ghotki, while proximity near Jamshoro, Qambar Shahdadkot and later Hyderabad–Thatta corridor will successively bear the downstream stress,” the report warned.
POWER OUTAGES
Heavy monsoon rains and resulting deluges have triggered power outages in several districts of Punjab. The Ministry of Water and Power said in a separate report that overall, 51 grid stations and 543 feeders had been affected by the floods.
It said authorities were working on restoring power across the province’s flood-affected districts, with 309 feeders fully restored and 226 feeders partially restored.
Pakistan’s recent flood devastation has brought back memories of the 2022 deluges, which inundated roughly one-third of the country at one point in time, killed over 1,700, inflicted damages of over $30 billion and destroyed large swathes of crops and critical infrastructure.
Despite only contributing 1 percent to global gas emissions, Pakistan is consistently ranked among the countries worst affected by climate change.
