By Asia Samachar | Panjab |
Panjab has been thrown into deeper flood crisis, with swathes of farmland in places like Kapurthala submerged under floodwater, as heavy rainfall in their catchment areas continues to swell the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers.
Schools have been ordered to close from one to three days in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Fazilka and Ferozepur, with their district administrators issuing evacuation advisories to flood-hit villages as waters continue to rise.
The release of surplus water from the Pong, Bhakra and Ranjit Sagar dams has compounded matters, inundating large swathes of farmland and villages in districts located along the three rivers, reported Hindustan Times.
The Majha region, comprising Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts, and flanked by all three rivers, is bearing the brunt of the flood havoc.
Due to continuous rainfall in the hilly and plain areas over the past few days, the Ravi river, Ujh river, Jalaliya, Chakki, various canals and drains flowing through Pathankot district have been running beyond capacity, the report added.
The situation is equally dire for Panjab, Pakistan, with close to 150,000 people have been evacuated so far from flood-prone areas like Bahawalnagar, Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Bahawalpur and Vehari.
A devastating monsoon season marked by record rainfall, glacier melt, and widespread flooding has exposed Pakistan’s extreme vulnerability to climate change. The “high flood” warnings this week have put Punjab on high alert and prompted mass evacuations in various places, reported The Dawn.
Separately, a warning of “extremely high flood levels” was issued for the Sutlej River, state media PTV reported, adding that the water level in the river reached 195,000 cusecs.
A day earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz issued orders to evacuate the people living in areas around rivers and low-lying regions, while the Ministry of Climate Change predicted heavy rains in Gujranwala, Gujrat, and Lahore divisions “with a high risk of both riverine and urban flooding”.
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Punjab: Why are floods so devastating? (Asia Samachar, 26 July 2023)
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