ISLAMABAD: The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Punjab on Tuesday warned that the River Sutlej could reach medium flood level within the next 24 hours, with the level expected to persist for up to two days, though most rivers across the province currently remain within safe limits.
The advisory follows weeks of heavy monsoon rains that have killed more than 1,000 people nationwide, displaced thousands, and damaged over 2.5 million acres of farmland, according to official figures. Punjab — Pakistan’s agricultural heartland — has experienced repeated flooding since August after excess water releases from India and persistent rainfall left riverbanks and embankments saturated.
“The River Sutlej at Ganda Singh Wala is expected to reach the Medium Flood Level within the next 24 hours and sustain the level for the subsequent two days,” the PDMA said in its latest advisory, referring to a border town and river monitoring point located near Kasur district in Punjab along the Pakistan–India border.
The agency said water levels in the Sutlej and Ravi rivers depend on releases from Indian reservoirs and directed all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to remain on high alert. It also placed the Health, Irrigation, Communication and Works, Local Government, and Livestock Departments on standby for possible flood response operations.
