ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: Pakistan’s southern Sindh province is on high alert for a possible “super flood” as authorities prepare mass evacuations, after relentless monsoon deluges in neighboring Punjab killed at least 33 people and displaced 750,000 this week.
Punjab, home to nearly 128 million people — almost half of Pakistan’s total population of 240 million — has been battered this week by floods triggered by heavy monsoon showers and excess water released by India. The deluges are now surging downstream toward Sindh, the country’s second-most populous province with about 56 million residents, raising fears of large-scale devastation.
Floodwaters in the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej rivers are expected to reach Sindh in the coming days, with officials warning that flows at Guddu and Sukkur barrages could swell to as high as 900,000 cusecs. A super flood refers to an exceptionally large and destructive event, rare in occurrence, that can cause widespread devastation across vast areas.
Nationwide, at least 854 people have been killed and more than 1,100 injured since the monsoon season began in late June.
“The government’s top priority is the safety of human lives, livestock and barrages,” Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said in a statement on Sunday. “The district administration, PDMA [provincial disaster management authority], Pakistan Navy, and Pakistan Army are actively engaged in evacuation and relief operations.”
