ISLAMABAD: As floodwaters continue to surge through southern Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a "comprehensive and realistic assessment" of the damage caused by ongoing monsoon rains and riverine flooding across the country.
The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) on Wednesday warned that the Guddu and Sukkur barrages in Sindh remain in a "high flood" situation, expected to persist over the next 36 hours. Water flow at the Kotri Barrage has reached "medium flood" levels as the surge moves downstream.
Meanwhile, the situation in Punjab is slowly stabilizing. Water levels are receding at Ganda Singh Wala on the Sutlej River and at Panjnad Barrage on the Chenab.
Current outflows at Panjnad are approximately 185,000 cusecs, while Guddu and Sukkur are recording steady outflows of over 550,000 and 520,000 cusecs, respectively.
In a high-level meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Sharif instructed all relevant federal and provincial agencies to assess the damage to infrastructure, crops, livestock, and communication networks in flood-affected areas. He emphasized the need for close coordination among institutions involved in relief and rehabilitation operations.
Officials from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other departments briefed the prime minister on ongoing restoration efforts and emergency response measures.
Mass evacuations and emergency measures
In southern Punjab, emergency operations continue at full pace. The Punjab government reported the successful evacuation of 24,475 people from flood-hit Jalalpur Pirwala in Multan. In Muzaffargarh’s Ali Pur, nearly 10,800 people were rescued, along with over 1,000 from Baroos Abad in Rojhan.
As water from the receding Chenab shifts into the Sutlej, threatening urban settlements, local authorities have reinforced embankments along Gilani and Shujaabad Roads in Multan to prevent further flooding. A breach on Shujaabad Road was quickly repaired using heavy machinery.
Despite these efforts, infrastructure remains under strain. Sections of the Multan-Uch Sharif Motorway have been submerged at multiple points, and operations are underway to drain water from the Jalalpur Pirwala Interchange and surrounding areas.
UN urges urgent support as Pakistan
A senior UN official has warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in Pakistan, where ongoing monsoon floods have affected over 6 million people and displaced 2.5 million across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Carlos Geha, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Pakistan, said the situation is dire, with vital crops destroyed, nearly 1,000 lives lost, and entire communities cut off. In Punjab alone, Pakistan’s agricultural heartland, over 4.7 million people are affected, following riverine floods triggered in part by water released from upstream Indian dams.
More than 8,400 homes, 239 bridges, and 700 kilometers of roads have been damaged or destroyed. Over 2.2 million hectares of farmland lie underwater, causing a surge in food prices, including a 25% rise in wheat flour.
While the government has evacuated millions, the UN says relief efforts are struggling to meet demand. OCHA has released $6.5 million in emergency funding, but access remains difficult due to collapsed infrastructure. Waterborne diseases such as malaria and dengue are spreading, with fears of cholera outbreaks ahead.
“This is not Pakistan’s fault; it is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries,” Geha stressed. He called on the international community to provide urgent aid and long-term support to rebuild resilience.
