Five people dead as rescue boat overturns in Pakistan floods

More than a dozen rescued after boat capsizes during evacuations in Pakistan’s flood-stricken Punjab.

At least five people have lost their lives and more than a dozen had to be rescued in Pakistan’s flood-affected southern Punjab^[1] province after a boat carrying evacuees capsized.

According to the disaster management authority, the boat overturned on Saturday in Multan district because of strong currents, but the majority of passengers were saved.

Flooding from the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers has affected more than 4,100 villages, forcing over two million people to flee their homes, according to figures shared on Saturday by Punjab Relief Commissioner Nabil Javed.

Authorities have set up 423 relief camps, 512 medical facilities and 432 veterinary posts to protect both people and livestock after more than 1.5 million animals were relocated.

Nearly 900 people have been killed in monsoon floods in Pakistan since June, according to figures from the United Nations.

Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Multan, said entire villages in the region have been abandoned due to the floods.

“People have left their belongings and are trying to save their lives,” he said. “Most people have no protection. Tens of thousands of acres of land with standing crops are lost. Mango orchards are all submerged.”

Hyder said that by September, the monsoon season would typically have ended but the Meteorological Department was predicting a 10th monsoon spell to arrive soon.

Global warming has worsened monsoon rains this year in Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change^[2], according to a new study. Downpours and cloudbursts have triggered flash floods and landslides across the mountainous north and northwest in recent months.

Punjab^[3], home to 150 million people, is a vital part of Pakistan’s agricultural sector and is the country’s main wheat producer.

Flooding in 2022 wiped out huge swaths of crops in the east and south of Pakistan, leading Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to warn that the country faced food shortages.

While South Asia’s seasonal monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic and deadly across the region.

References

1. ^{^} flood-affected southern Punjab (www.aljazeera.com)
2. ^{^} most vulnerable to climate change (www.aljazeera.com)
3. ^{^} Punjab (www.aljazeera.com)