ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s federal capital issued a flood alert on Monday amid heavy rains, as swollen rivers Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej continued to swell from downpours and cross-border water releases, raising the risk of fresh inundations across the Punjab province and beyond.
The warning came after days of devastation in Punjab, where more than two million people have been affected, with more than 2,000 villages inundated. Approximately 760,000 people and 516,000 animals have been evacuated, and at least 33 people have died in less than a week, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority.
Nationwide, rains and floods have killed 854 people since June 26 when the monsoon season began.
The emergency has revived memories of the catastrophic 2022 deluge, when a third of Pakistan was submerged, more than 1,700 people were killed, 30 million displaced and damages estimated at $35 billion.
“Rain in the federal capital, district administration on high alert,” the deputy commissioner of Islamabad said in a statement as he issued orders for “special monitoring of low-lying areas and drains.”
