https://arab.news/4675b
- Water levels at Punjab’s Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers recorded at “steady levels” as floods move downstream
- Pakistan warns of dengue outbreaks in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Islamabad, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Multan
KARACHI: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has warned that the River Indus at Sukkur will remain in “high flood” level for the next few days, as the countrywide death toll from monsoon rains surged to nearly 1,000.
Sindh has been bracing for floods as water levels rise at the Guddu and Sukkur barrages in southern Pakistan. Devastating floods in Punjab, which have killed 104 people, forced over 2.5 million people to evacuate and affected more than 4.5 million since late August, are now making their way toward Sindh.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported on Monday that the water inflows at Guddu Barrage in Kashmore district was recorded at 624,456 cusecs while the outflow was recorded at 594,936 cusecs. The NDMA said the water inflows at Sukkur Barrage were recorded at 556,217 cusecs while the outflows were recorded at 502,667 cusecs.
“River Indus at Sukkur is expected to remain in high flood level during next few days,” PDMA Sindh said in its report on Monday.
The PDMA Punjab reported that water levels in Punjab’s Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers were recorded at “stable” levels, indicating that water levels were receding in the province and flowing downstream.
Separately, the NDMA said in its latest situation report on Sept. 15 that the death toll from rain-related incidents since Jun. 26 had surged to 992, with the highest deaths reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 504, followed by Punjab with 290, Sindh with 80, northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) with 41, Azad Kashmir with 38, Balochistan with 30 and Islamabad with nine casualties.
DENGUE OUTBREAKS
As Punjab’s swollen rivers inundate thousands of villages and settlements in the province, Pakistani authorities have warned of dengue outbreaks in the country’s major cities and other flood-affected areas.
Dengue is a viral infection caused by the dengue virus, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes. While many dengue infections are asymptomatic or produce only mild illness, the virus can occasionally cause more severe cases, and even death.
In an alert issued on Sept. 15, the meteorological department warned that floods have left behind stagnant water and poor drainage, creating conducive environmental conditions for mosquito breeding and transmission of dengue.
“The combined impact of favorable weather thresholds and flood-related waterlogging has made condition conducive from 20th September 2025 for the dengue onset,” the Met Department said. “It is predicted that this season poses an unprecedentedly high-risk of a severe dengue outbreak, particularly in ten major cities of Pakistan i.e., Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Multan as well as in flood affected areas across the country.”
Despite contributing only 1 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is consistently ranked among countries affected the most by climate change. Devastating floods in 2022 left nearly 1,700 people dead, one-third of the country submerged at one point in time and inflicted damages of over $30 billion, Pakistan estimated.