Rescuers backed by troops evacuated more than 25,000 people from a city in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province overnight as rising rivers threatened to flood the region, officials said Monday.
More than 25,000 individuals were evacuated from a city in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province as rising rivers posed a flood threat, officials reported on Monday.
The emergency rescue operation in Jalalpur Pirwala kicked off late Sunday and carried on throughout the night, according to Irfan Ali Kathia, director-general of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority. By Monday morning, approximately 25,000 residents from high-risk areas had been relocated to safer zones.
This mass evacuation from Jalalpur Pirwala follows an incident two days prior when a rescue boat capsized in the city’s floodwaters, tragically claiming five lives. Local officials confirmed that fifteen others were rescued after the boat tipped over on Saturday.
Ghulam Shabir, a 50 year old construction worker, moved to higher ground near the city after floodwater engulfed his village, swamping homes and farmland. He urged the government to speed up rescue operations as many people remained trapped in flooded villages.
The government has mobilised hundreds of boats, along with thousands of rescuers and volunteers, for evacuations in the flood-stricken districts.
Among those participating in the efforts is the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, a volunteer group renowned for being among the first responders in natural disasters, with members stationed across the country. The group’s spokesman, Taha Munir, revealed that floodwaters had already submerged all the villages surrounding Jalalpur Pirwala and had started to infiltrate the city itself.
“Many residents refuse to leave, saying it is better to remain on their rooftops than to sit helpless on the roadside,” he said.
Survivors told reporters that many people remain stranded on rooftops and trees.
“I saw with my own eyes people perched on branches of trees, half-submerged in floodwaters,” said Taj Din, who was among a dozen evacuees rescued by a boat.
Punjab government spokesperson Uzma Bukhari revealed they’re deploying thermal imaging drones to spot trapped individuals in waterlogged areas, allowing rescue teams to reach them by boat.
She insisted that “the government is doing its best to handle this situation.” The flooding has already impacted over 4.1 million people across 4,100 villages in 25 districts throughout Punjab province.
Since August 26, there have been at least 56 flood-related fatalities, whilst more than 2 million locals have been evacuated to safety, Kathia confirmed. The disaster management official informed The Associated Press that displaced families were receiving tents and food provisions.
He explained that local authorities, supported by military personnel and police, were accelerating evacuations in the city, home to nearly 700,000 people.
Mosques transmitted evacuation alerts as residents clambered onto vehicles during torrential downpours. Punjab has been in the throes of one of its most extensive rescue operations, even employing drones, since last month when floodwaters swamped several districts following India’s release of water from its dams.
The deluge caused the Ravi, Chenab and Sutlej rivers to swell, with heavy monsoon rains exacerbating the situation.
Kathia revealed that Punjab’s chief minister, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, is personally overseeing the evacuation efforts from a central control room. The Pakistani army, police and rescue services are lending a hand, including conducting helicopter airlifts from isolated villages.
Since late June, monsoon flooding has claimed over 900 lives across Pakistan, as reported by the National Disaster Management Authority, or NDMA. Over the weekend, India once again alerted Islamabad via diplomatic channels about potential cross-border flooding, according to the agency.
Kathia stated that the rising waters have already displaced more than 2 million people throughout Punjab since 23 August, when heavy rainfall and dam releases began overwhelming the rivers. Only around 60,000 of these individuals are residing in official relief camps, he said, while the majority have sought refuge with relatives in nearby towns or established makeshift camps along river banks, awaiting the receding of the waters.
Evacuations are also in progress in southern Sindh province, which faces escalating threats as water continues to flow downstream into the Indus River and where over 100,000 people have already been moved from at-risk settlements.
Sindh was one of the regions most severely affected by the devastating 2022 floods, which claimed the lives of 1,739 people across the country.
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